Super Luigi Bros and The Shaman of Shadows
by ChronoWeapon
Summary: The Mario Brothers uncover a clog in the Kerokero Sewers that was caused by an ancient statue of a wizard that seemed to belong to the same line of wizards as Merlon. Only this wizard comes to life as a Lich and succeeds at stealing the souls of all who reside in Toad Town including Mario. Now, its up to Luigi to defeat this wizard and save his brother as well as Toad Town!
1. Prologue 1: A New Discovery!

Super Mario Brothers are Copyright by Nintendo.

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

Prologue, Part I: A New Discovery!

"Hmm…, where to begin…? My name is Merlon. I am a Wizard… When I read the stars last night, I felt a sense of dread. I have learned of something important. I don't know exactly what it means just yet, but I know it concerns you!" mused Merlon as he sat at his crystal ball. Merlon is a type of wizard, a Shaman to be specific, his face is shrouded completely in shadows save for his glowing yellow eyes and a very large puffy white mustache that even reached his feet. He is covered in azure robes with an azure hood and he wore red curl-tipped shoes. Lastly, he wore a smaller green crystal ball around his neck with a golden star deep within the center. Merlon became noticeably uneasy about the visions he was witnessing until a dark and evil face featuring deeply set ice blue eyes and pearly white teeth emerged within the depths of his crystal ball. Its remaining features covered in ink black shadows. Merlon leaped back in fright as the image suddenly vanished, "W-what is this? This rancid presence!" he shouted in fear as he left the confines of his home.

*Kerokero Sewers, Beneath the Mushroom Kingdom*

The Mushroom Kingdom's two most familiar faces wandered the spooky and eerie sewer system beneath their home, The Mushroom Kingdom. The short portly mustached man in blue overalls with a red shirt and cap with the letter 'M' on it and his slightly taller green clad sibling came down to the sewers to investigate a blockage. "Say Mario," started the green garbed brother. "What do you suppose is causing the blockage down here?" he finished as he shined his flashlight at the ancient dried out canals.

"I'm not sure Luigi," pondered Mario as he too searched around with his flashlight. "But I don't like it one bit…, it must be very large."

"Hmm, perhaps it's a collapse that is the cause?" Luigi continued to muse as he scratched his mustache.

"A collapse would be terrible, but it's looking like that may be it," Mario began to agree.

After some time, a small trickle of water was found, "Mario, we're almost there!" Luigi beamed brightly.

"Yahoo!" Mario cheered. "Let's go!" he urged as the brothers picked up their pace to a fair jog.

What they saw at the end surprised them. It was not a collapse like Luigi initially believed. The canal was plugged with a sticky brown sludge that had multiple ludicrous items stuck in it. Everything from bent re-bar, broken concrete and shattered pipes, to completely intact toilet bowls, luggage suitcases and even a kitchen sink. "Calamitous clam sauce Mario, would you look at all of this garbage!" Luigi said in astonishment.

Mario became determined as he brought out his wooden hammer, "Well Luigi, it looks like we'll be earning our coins today!" he said as he began breaking up some of the objects with his hammer. Luigi pulled a large metal pale out from nowhere and began placing some of the loose objects into it. After working for around a half an hour the brothers came across something very strange buried in the muck.

"Hmm?" grunted Luigi as he cleared some of the sludge with a trowel he found. "W-what is this, it looks like a… hand?"

Mario took a closer look, "Calm down Luigi, it's made of stone. There must be a statue in all this crud. I'll bet that the statue is where the clog started." Mario deduced.

"The water is starting to seep through around it," Luigi noticed. "Maybe it got stuck in the gate and all this junk just collected around it."

"Now that we know that let's keep going!" Mario urged as he resumed digging.

After another half an hour the water began to flow nicely and even started eroding the clog as it came through. Then the brothers heard a large rumble. "Here it comes!" Luigi said with a grin.

"It's breaking! Get back!" Mario alarmed with a shout. The bros jumped up to a ledge as the clog broke into pieces and the water flow was restored. The portcullis that should have been there was broken down and everything came through. As the brothers regrouped, Luigi looked around with some confusion. The supposed statue was not around.

"Hey Mario, let's go see if we can find that statue!" Luigi said curiously.

"Okie dokie then!" Mario agreed as he wiped his hands together.

Since their job was done, the brothers retraced their steps and found the water to have returned to its ordinary peaceful flow. A faint purplish glow beamed through the canal and the bros. nodded silently as they shut off their flashlights to focus on the foreign light. As they approached, the statue's figure came into their view. It was wrapped in ghostly chains that much was made to be sure as the chains glowed faintly with a white light. Luigi tripped and the water carried him in front of the statue. Mario called out in concern as Luigi rose and wiped his face. He found himself only a breath away from the statue. Not able to discern its full appearance, he shined his flashlight on it. What he saw caused him to break out in a bloodcurdling scream as he threw his hands into the air along with his flashlight. He fell back down and scooted himself away from the horrifying skeletal visage of the statue. Mario wondered what frightened his brother so badly so he too went around from the statue's backside and up to the front. He shined his flashlight at it and even Mario was shaken by what he saw. The statue in question was made in the likeness of one of the many wizards that Mario had encountered throughout his adventures. However, this wizard was very horrifying and had protruding teeth and evil looking eyes. His face had been contorted in pain and his robes did little to hide the serious hunched back and long boney fingers. His hands were thrown in front of him as if he attempted to stop something from reaching his face. His expression made him appear as though he had suffered great pain. The most peculiar feature though was the crystal ball hanging around his neck. It was the source of the dim purplish light as if it were a black light.

Luigi shivered, "Mario… this is one freaky effigy! What do we do with it?"

"Let's get E. Gadd he might know what to do!" Mario said with an idea.

*Princess Peach's Castle Courtyard, Mushroom Kingdom*

"Oyamaa! Be careful with that youngster!" warned an elderly professor as his colleague haphazardly hit a large crate with a crowbar. The professor was a short lanky man with thick glasses, a white tuft of hair on his otherwise bald head and dressed in a white lab coat.

The Toad, a mushroom-like person wearing a yellow spotted mushroom cap and lab coat turned to the professor apologetically, "S-sorry Professor Gadd, I'll try to be more careful!"

It was a wonderful morning in the Mushroom Kingdom. The sun shined brightly with not a cloud in the sky. Professor Elvin Gadd and some Toad researchers were beginning to unveil the bros. new discovery in front of the royal castle at the request of the Princess. Toads from all over Toad Town gathered around the courtyard to witness the show. The Princess walked gracefully onto the wooden platform just as the researchers finished unloading their precious cargo. She held a yellow parasol with blue and white accents and she wore her typical bright pink dress with pink heels, white long gloves, sapphire brooch and gilded crown. Her long blonde hair shined in the morning sunlight as did her ocean blue eyes. The Princess approached the Professor, "It looks like Mario and Luigi discovered something incredible Professor Gadd! Oh, I can't wait to see it!" she said with a sweetly excited tone.

"Hrm, yes, it seems the Bros found something truly nerve wracking in the sewers!" Gadd claimed. "Speaking of which, where are those two?"

"Oh, they said they were making last minute rounds in the sewers to make sure everything was okay. They should be back any minute!" Peach explained with a soft smile.

"Ah, well you know those two, their work is never done!" Gadd said as he took a crowbar to the large crate.

With a loud crash, the large crate from before was opened and its contents stunned the crowd with 'oohs' and 'aahs'. Princess Peach gave a good look at the statue, "My, it certainly is creepy isn't it?" she said covering her mouth with one hand.

"Yes, I want to know the story behind it! It's got me so excited!" Gadd said with a wide grin. "We know almost nothing about these wizards, so maybe studying this statue will give us some insight into their culture a little more."

Peach was then struck with an idea, "Oh, maybe Merlon can assist you Professor! He's a wizard that lives here in Toad Town. His home is easy to spot as its dark blue, resembles a circus tent and has a spinning roof. It's really quite lovely!"

"Now there's a good idea Peach!" Gadd complimented as he extended his hand and index finger into the air.

Then suddenly, off to the left of the stage a large green Warp Pipe came up from the ground and with a massive leap, Mario emerged, "Whoo-hoo, its-a me Mario!" he shouted as he landed. People in the crowd cheered wildly.

Also from the pipe, the younger twin Luigi leaped out with a spring in his step. He jumped even higher than Mario. "Yeah-hey, I'm-a Luigi, number one!" he said as he haphazardly landed on Mario's head.

As Mario recovered, Luigi apologized but the two began to bicker in a strange tongue. Peach turned to Mario and Luigi, "Ahem, oh Mario Brothers, over here!" she said sweetly. That sweet tone instantly killed the argument between the brothers and their attention was completely on her. The brothers bowed in respect and made their way onto the stage. "I take it you two finished?" Peach asked happily.

"You bet!" Mario replied with a 'thumbs up' gesture.

"All in a morning's work!" Luigi followed as he adjusted his cap.

"Oyamaa, well now this certainly is a treat!" Gadd said cheerfully. "Now to start the show!"

Professor E. Gadd began explaining his presentation to the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. He gave hypotheses and theories based on the wizard statue. Everyone, including Peach and the Mario Brothers were glued to the presentation. As Gadd paused, a moment of silence was broken by a voice in the center of the crowd. Everyone turned to the voice and it belonged to the shaman named Merlon. Merlon made his way through the crowd and up to the stage area. Merlon then faced the statue, "What the...? Was this in the Kerokero Sewers?" he said growing with fear as he shivered slightly.

"Why, what's wrong Merlon?" Peach asked with concern.

"'This' is what's wrong Princess!" Merlon said pointing to the statue with a horrified gesture. "Why did you bring this foul thing here, Professor? It belongs nowhere! Not in a museum, not in an art gallery, not even in someone's home! This thing…, belongs in the Minus World!"

The Mario Brothers turned to at each other believing they had done something wrong. Gadd responded with a disappointed tone, "You mean this statue isn't sacred to your people?"

"Professor, this is the opposite of 'sacred', it is a foul and wicked idol!" Merlon claimed fearfully. "Mario, I beg of you smash this idol with your hammer!"

"Oyamma, now wait just a minute Merlon!" Gadd shouted nervously. "My colleagues had a hard time getting this out of the sewers! Wouldn't it be okay to study it just for a little while?"

"If you must then you can study it in pieces!" Merlon continued on.

Peach stepped forward and offered Merlon some tea in a very beautiful china teacup placed on a matching saucer. "Now, now, let's not do anything rash. Let's just take a moment to relax. Okay, Merlon?" she asked sweetly.

Merlon calmed almost immediately as he took the tea and gave it a sip. "Oh, this is good!"

Then, Princess Peach approached Merlon from the side, knelt down and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry Merlon, if there's anything wrong with this statue then the Mario Brothers can take care of it. I can assure you of that! All right everyone, let's call it a day and thank you Professor Gadd for your wonderfully insightful presentation!" she said with her hands gently clasped together at the finger tips.

Professor Gadd and his colleagues began packing up the small things and eventually nothing but the statue remained. Mario and Peach departed together to go to the castle for some cake and tea while Luigi stayed behind to help with other things as did Merlon. Finally, it was decided that the idol remain in its place until someone decided what to do with it. "Why destroy it Merlon? What does it stand for?" Gadd asked curiously.

"It's a prophecy..., one I had hope would not come to pass in my lifetime...," said Merlon in a serious tone.

Luigi approached the idol again, "Hmm, certainly is creepy looking… I wouldn't want it at home," he thought out loud as he shivered.

"Well then Merlon, you wouldn't mind helping me with my studies would you?" Gadd asked politely. "As a researcher on ghosts and other phenomenon, I am interested in your people's spiritual culture."

"Hmmm, now that I would be happy to help with," Merlon said relaxing a bit. "Come to my home Professor and I will share with you all that I can."

"Sounds good, I would be happy to," Gadd responded as he and Merlon departed.

As Luigi looked around, he noticed that he was now all alone. He then took a permanent marker from his pocket and began to comically draw all over the idol. After he was done with his mischief he laughed heartily. Then suddenly, a nasty wind bellowed throughout the courtyard. Luigi shivered and then proceeded to leave the courtyard as his attention was caught back by it three times each gaze more uneasy than the last, before he finally left.

*Mario's Pad, Later That Night*

Mario and Luigi were snug in their beds as Luigi tossed and turned until finally, he awoke groggily and noticed three strange entities standing around his bed glaring at him. They were wizards not unlike Merlon but lacked any facial hair and wore dark purple robes instead of blue. Luigi was dumbstruck more than afraid, "Uh…, Mario we have wizards..."

Mario opened one of his eyes and looked at a wizard that was leering at him over his bedside, "Huh? Oh yeah… thanks Luigi…," he said as he grabbed the wizard as if he were an extra pillow and blanket. The wizard did not like this treatment and began punching Mario wildly. He was joined by several other wizards who also began pummeling Luigi.

Mario completely awoke in burst of irritation and shoved his offenders off by performing a spin, "Alright, what's going on here?!" he said irately as he fully came to his senses. All the wizards began throwing themselves on top of the Mario Brothers. Mario erupted from the pile and began slamming them with his fists.

Luigi rose up and slammed both his clasped fists down hard on one the wizard's backsides, "How did these guys get in here?!"

Mario's house was bustling with chaos as the brothers finally made it out the door fully dressed. They then headed out of their modest wooden house with foliage surrounding as they headed towards the Warp Pipe that led to Toad Town.

*Toad Town*

As the Mario Brothers emerged from the Warp Pipe they noticed a strange event occurring. "Sufferin' spaghetti Mario, there are wizards everywhere! They're packed in the streets like sardines!" Luigi said with surprise.

"Mama Mia, you're not kidding!" Mario started. "Where did all these guys come from?!"

"A better question, how come they are not attacking us?" Luigi asked with astonishment.

"Who cares they must have something more important to do!" Mario deduced. "Let's take a look from the roof tops! Maybe we can see what they are up to!"

The brothers found some crates near a house and decided to climb up to the roof. As they hopped from roof to roof, traversing rickety gutters and avoiding holes in ceilings, the Mario Brothers came within reach of Princess Peach's Castle. The wizards seemed to be headed into her courtyard. "Oh, that's it! They are probably looking for that idol we found!" Luigi realized.

"Look, we can get a closer look from that building over there!" Mario claimed as he pointed to a two story home. The brothers continued traversing the rooftops until finally climbing the two-story home's balcony to the top. From this home, Mario grabbed hold of the chimney and placed his hand above his eyes as he gazed into the courtyard. The wizards were praying and worshiping the idol. "Frustratin' fettuccini Luigi, it looks like Merlon was right! We have to destroy that idol!" Mario said as he pulled out his large wooden hammer. "You got your hammer Weeg?"

Luigi went though all his pockets and quickly found that he did not have his hammer with him, "Nope, forgot it when we we're attacked…," Luigi moaned.

"Do'h!" Mario moaned as he face planted into the rooftop.

"Yoohoo, Mario, Luigi over here!" called Peach from her balcony. "Um, I guess you guys already know about the wizards. If you could, please make them leave! They don't even have their passports!" she said growing more panicked. The wizards forced open the door to Peach's balcony and they crowded around her. They crowded so much that she lost her balance and fell. The brothers were stunned with fear, but luckily Peach had a card up her sleeve, "It's okay I'll just float down!" she said using her magic to catch her fall and float gently down. However, this calm was short lived as the wizards grabbed Peach and held her in place. "Oh my, please don't do that! Please let go!" she pleaded. Back up on the balcony a well dressed elderly Toad with glasses was also held down by the attackers. "Oh, Toadsworth are you okay?"

He grunted from underneath the dog pile, "Err, yes milady, nothing to worry about here! What's with these guys anyway? Since when do wizards use physical force?" he said with confusion.

Down below where the idol stood, Merlon and Gadd fought off the worshipers as best they could; one with magic and the other with the Poltergust 3000 and its fire function. Mario readied his hammer, "Come on Weeg! We've got to get down there!"

"Oh no…," Luigi moaned.

Mario jumped on Luigi's shoulders and Luigi hesitantly jumped off the roof and began 'walking' along the wizard's heads, who in return attempted to grab at them. Luckily, Luigi's quick feet and high jumping made it relatively easy to use their heads as stepping stones. Mario and Luigi quickly made it to the magical barrier that Merlon had set up, but just as Luigi was about to leap into it his foot was snagged by one of the many grabbing hands. Mario leaped from his brother's shoulders and landed safely to meet Merlon and Gadd, but Luigi fell into the barrier and then the stage face first with his back feet in the air. Luigi picked himself up with a moan as he cursed his bad luck.

Merlon pleaded to Mario, "Please Mario, destroy the idol, now!"

"Here I go!" Mario shouted strongly as he jumped into the air, ready to bring down his hammer.

However, Mario was a moment too late as the statue erupted with a powerful purplish light, empowered through all the chanting. Mario was repelled and he managed to save himself from his fall and land safely next to his cowering brother, who had his hat pulled over his eyes. As the light faded it became apparent that the statue was merely a petrified wizard and not a simple creepy statue. The wizard had come back to life, in a way. The visage of the wizard was one of undeath. He was completely skeletal with pin prick sized eyes set deep in the pale skull that lie underneath his tattered hood. His boney hands clad in fingerless black gloves reached out from underneath his tattered and faded purple and black robes. His robes were an older style than Merlon's. They were stitched loosely at the shoulders and he had golden curl-tipped boots. The accents on his robes were missing due to rot and decay.

Mario and the party were shocked as the wizard lumbered slowly forward, moaning. The Wizard Cultists all bowed down until their faces reached the ground. One of them forced Peach to the ground as well. She responded in disgust, "Oh, please don't do that! I heard mud is good for a woman's complexion but this is ridiculous!"

"Just hold on Princess!" Mario shouted.

Merlon began chuckling, "Well..., this is a surprise! He's become a Dry Lich!" he laughed.

Gadd was stunned, "I've never seen this type of ghost before! What is a Dry Lich?"

Merlon explained, "A Dry Lich is any sorcerer that has fallen into undeath! He probably can't even remember any of his former spells due to his brains rotting away! Even if he does remember he can't pronounce the big ones without a tongue!"

"So that's a good thing right?" Mario asked hopefully.

Gadd smirked, "You bet, since he's undead he's vulnerable to my inventions! I'll just suck him up and turn him into a painting!"

Gadd approached the Dry Lich and turned on the Poltergust 3000. The vacuum grabbed hold of the undead wizard and he began to slowly be drawn to its nozzle. The Dry Lich made three forced steps towards Gadd with the professor growing more excited with each step. However, the link was threatened as the wizard performed a strange technique. He was able to materialize his own shadow from the ground into a hand and bat the professor away. The connection was cut and he was thrown to the ground.

Mario came to him, "Professor are you alright?!" he asked alarmed.

The professor simply moaned deliriously as Mario brought him to his feet. Merlon on the other hand blocked the Lich's path as Mario continued to help the professor. As he was face to face with the Dry Lich, Merlon began chanting a spell. However, the Dry Lich placed his boney finger to his mouth and 'shushed' him with a long echoing whisper that whistled slightly through his protruding teeth. Merlon's words were taken from his mouth as his voice vanished. Merlon's eyes widened in horror, "I've' been muted!" he thought. The zombified wizard then stretched his shadow again and bound it to Merlon's shadow. Merlon was completely immobilized and now being controlled like a puppet. Now controlled by the rancid Dry Lich, Merlon was forced to undo his barrier spell. The Wizard Cultists all began surrounding everyone they could. They took every Toad they could get their hands on and attempted to take Luigi and Mario, but they managed to rescue the Professor and jump to higher ground.

Mario shouted to Luigi from atop a large stone star effigy, "Luigi, are you all right bro?!" he asked as Luigi stood atop the tall castle walls.

"Yeah, just getting my balance is all!" he said with his knees shaking. "Hey, where is that bonehead taking Merlon?"

"All the cultists are following too!" Gadd pointed out.

Mario looked around and as Merlon was already nearly out of sight. Gadd realized where they were headed. "Mario, they are going to Shooting Star Summit for some reason! They may be after Murluvlee and Merlow, you have to stop him!"

"Hey weeg! Take care of the Princess and the Professor! I'm going after Merlon!" Mario instructed strongly.

"Oh yeah!" Luigi replied with a thumbs up.

With that, Mario began chasing down Merlon while jumping and leaping on the heads of the cultists. Luigi on the other hand leaped and scuttle jumped over to the Princess who was being slowly carried off.

"I hate to trouble you Luigi, but could you please get me out of this mess?" Peach cried out sweetly.

"No problem Princess!" Luigi claimed as he landed in front of the cultists that were carrying her. Luigi performed a break dance sweep with his sturdy legs and knocked all of the wizards down. He quickly scooped up Peach and jumped over to Gadd's position.

Luigi stacked both the professor and the princess on his back, "There we go!" Luigi cheered confidently.

"Thanks youngster, I thought I was done for!" Gadd said in relief.

"I thank you as well Luigi, but we should really find out how to help Mario!" Peach said with worry. "We've never seen anyone like this Dry Lich before, so he may need some help!"

"I agree, these spiritual foes are always tricky for Mario!" Luigi claimed. Luigi looked around to se if there was a safer spot to get to, as the cultists began attempting to climb the effigy to reach them. Luigi then realized something as he looked to the roof of Peach's Castle.

*Meanwhile*

Mario trailed Merlon as fast as he could but the crowd was quick and already made it to the base of Shooting Star Summit. "I need some more air time!" Mario exclaimed as he punched a '!' Block and out popped a Super Leaf. Mario grabbed it and transformed with a puff of smoke. He now donned a pair of raccoon ears and a tail. "Oh yeah!" he shouted cheerfully as he gently floated down. Mario then followed this with a triple jump, using the wizard's heads as trampolines, he was able to propel himself in the air high enough to start flying.

The Dry Lich ascended the spiraling Sooting Star Summit guarded heavily by his followers. Both he and Merlon made it to the top of the hill with Mario landing on a strip of '?' Blocks just out of reach. Mario ground his teeth, "Drat, I didn't have enough flying power!" he cursed.

The wizards encircled Merlon and his captivator and yet allowed them some breathing room. The Dry Lich began to utilize his shadow bending ability again and this time he incorporated all of the shadows of his followers and his captive. The shadows rose up into the sky and formed a massive hand shape. "Mama mia...," Mario said in awe. The massive conglomeration of shadows reached high into the sky. It rose until it reached above the very clouds in the night sky. Mario could no longer see what the hand was going for but it eventually came to a halt as it seem to grasp something.

"Mario!" Luigi called out from behind Mario.

Mario averted his gaze to witness his brother carrying Peach and Gadd while falling from an even higher height than from where Mario was standing. "Luigi, how did you get up there?" Mario asked in surprise.

"I found a vine to the clouds in a Brick Block...," he replied with a smile. Luigi landed on the same strip of blocks his brother was on. "What's going on?!"

"I don't really know but it can only end badly!" Mario shouted as he made a running jump to the hill's top. He slowed his descend using his Super Leaf power and landed right on top of the Dry Lich's head. The stomp caused him to fall to pieces like any 'Dry' class undead. The cultists noticed but did nothing as Mario grabbed Merlon by the upper arms and attempted to free him. Merlon would not budge however as he was trapped still by the Lich's shadow. "Hey come over here and help me out would ya weeg?!" he urged.

Luigi jumped into the sky and the Princess used her floating ability to gently fly over to the summit. "I thought you could use a little more air Luigi!" she said confidently.

"Ohh, I think I'm gonna get air sick!" Gadd moaned.

The Dry Lich's bones shook violently as he sprung back to life, but before he could take any action against Mario his brother landed on him breaking the skeletal wizard to pieces again. Everyone leaped off Luigi's back and gathered around Merlon. "My Therapy spell should bring Merlon's voice back!" Peach claimed as she gently laid her palms on Merlon. Her hands gleamed with a soft warm pink light.

"I think I can disconnect the shadow binding!" Gadd shouted with a twirl of a flash light. Gadd shined his bright flash light on the shadowy tether that connected Merlon to the Dry Lich. The shadow on the ground began to dissolve as the Dry Lich started shaking again. "There, got it!" Gadd said as the connection was broken.

Merlon fell into the Princess arms, "T-thank you...," he said wearily.

The Brothers intercepted Merlon and Peach from the now revived Dry Lich and Luigi pulled Gadd out of the way via his lab coat's collar. The Dry Lich stared at the brothers who were ready to fight back only to hear a horrifying noise come from up above. Rocks and blocks fell to the world below as it was now revealed what the Dry Lich had been trying to do with all those shadows. The large hand had yanked the Star Shrine from the sky and it was being dragged down from the heavens. It was falling to pieces as it did so. Everyone gazed into the sky in horror as they attempted to brace for the impending impact. With an enormous crash and massive dust cloud following, the Star Shrine, built to house the mythical Star Spirits and the magical Star Rod they guarded, fell to the base of Star Hill in absolute ruin. The Star Spirits were incapacitated by the crash.

Coughing and wheezing could be heard as everyone attempted to make sense of what had just happened. "Peach, Luigi, Professor?" Mario shouted. "Is everyone all right.

"I'm over here bro!" Luigi cried out as he had the Professor with him who was coughing and gagging on the dust but otherwise alright. He was not far from Mario's position, but Peach and the Dry Lich were missing. As the dust cleared out some more Mario looked around frantically until he seen a sight that angered him. Peach was being controlled by the evil wizard just as he had done to Merlon, but the zombie had the gall to ride on her back while she traversed the rubble.

Mario jumped into the rubble pit and gave chase, "Hey you! Get your boney butt off the Princess!" he shouted with fury.

Peach headed towards a bright light that shined through the night and brought the Dry Lich to it. He dismounted and Peach began to unwillingly dig through the rubble. Underneath a stone revealed the shining object to be the mystical Star Rod that was used to grant wishes. The Dry Lich looked back at Mario and hissed at him as he approached quickly. He drove Peach to raise the Star Rod and she began to make a wish for him.

Peach struggled to fight back as her voice escaped her mouth, "Mighty Star Rod grant my wish! I Merloom, wish for the return of my flesh! I wish for flesh that does not rot or decay even under the power of undeath or the flow of time!"

The Star Rod erupted with a bright flash of light as the wizard's wish was granted. Peach then tossed the Star Rod away as hard as she could and fell to the ground holding her mouth, stunned at the words that came from it. Meanwhile, the Dry Lich's body was enveloped in a bright but sickly light as new flesh wrapped itself around his bones until he emerged fully restored. Under his hood lie bright, cold, icy blue eyes and pearly white pointed teeth. His flesh had been restored and he could now speak for himself. Mario stopped before him and braced himself in a fighting stance. "Just who are you anyway?" Mario asked angrily.

The wizard spoke with a deep grating voice, "Ah, that's much better... Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Merloom and I am called 'The Shaman of Shadows' by my peers. I hear that your name is Mario? Is that correct?" he asked curiously.

"That's-a me!" Mario emphasized.

"Interesting... I hope you don't feel insulted, but I loathe the colors red and especially green," Merloom stated. "Nevertheless, I thank you for releasing me from that wretched torture! Now, where is this exactly?"

"Your in the Mushroom Kingdom!" Mario began. "We found you because of the light your crystal ball gave off."

"My crystal ball?" Merloom said as he remembered something important. "Oh, that reminds me!" he continued as he rattled the chains that stuck to his body. "I have a deal to complete! I think your souls and the souls of every Toad in this... Mushroom Kingdom will be enough to complete it!"

"Try me!" Mario said fiercely as he dashed at Merloom. Merloom was not ready as Mario hit the wizard with his raccoon tail. Merloom slid across the ground and caught himself by placing both hands on the ground in front of him. Mario then followed up by coming face to face with the wizard, "Firebrand!" Mario shouted as he generated a large sphere of flames in his hands. He pushed the orb into Merloom's chest and the force sent him flying.

Merloom shouted loudly as he crashed into the rubble. He then angrily used his shadow to move a boulder off of him. "Oh, humans can use supernatural abilities now? From a Deity no less..., so that's a thing! Why would a Deity give something as powerful as the Firebrand to a lowly peddler?!" he thought as he looked around. "Huh, where'd he go?!" he thought as he looked up. Mario was closing in from above, "He's going stomp on my head again isn't he?" he finished as Mario did just that. Mario landed and confidently readied himself for another round. Merloom rose up holding his head, "What is it with you people and the head?! Oww! Alright I've had enough of this! I have business I need to finish!" he said as he began chanting.

Merloom levitated into the air and his followers all rose in cheer. The followers offered up Toad people they had kidnaped from Toad Town, but Luigi, Merlon and Gadd were nowhere to be found. Peach quickly hurried under a large slab of stone and took cover. Mario on the other hand still wanted to fight back although he was now unable to reach Merloom. In a bright flash of blinding light souls from the Toad people were ripped from their bodies and sucked into the wizard's dark crystal ball. When it subsided, Peach gazed over her cover and to her horror she seen that Mario was standing cold and lifeless. His soul was taken as well leaving behind a pale and slumped body with a depressed expression on his face.

Merloom touched down, his crystal ball now completely filled and then some. It shined with a sickly violet glow, "Ah, now that, that's done its time for me to head home!" he said as he began chanting again.

Luigi, Peach, Merlon and Gadd rushed over to try and grab Mario but they were too late. "Mama mia, he's escaping into a Warp Zone!" Luigi panicked.

As Merloom rose into the portal above so did everyone else. "We're being sucked in!" Gadd said panicking.

"Hold on everyone!" Merlon shouted as they all followed the dark wizard into the Warp Zone.

"Here we go!" Luigi and Peach shouted in unison.

*End of Part I*


	2. Prologue 2: Welcome to Mage Land!

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

Prologue, Part II: Welcome to Mage Land!

*?*

Luigi slept heavily under the green covers in a wooden framed bed. The room he was in resembled a cave with a grassy floor. Then it suddenly became dark as night as the lone light source in the corner went out. Luigi then tossed and turned feeling uncomfortable in his rest as three ghostly voices echoed from above his bedside.

"Hmm, this is strange haven't we seen this fellow before?" said a ghost as it appeared. The ghost had a robe with a hood and a mask that had three perfectly round holes in it; one where its mouth should be and two where the eyes should be. It carried a sickle with it that peeked out from underneath his sleeve.

A Dry Bones, which is the dead spirit of the turtle-like Koopa followed, "No Greaper, this one's green, not red!"

A Boo then followed the Dry Bones, "Heh, look at him squirm, he must be able to sense us! The other one didn't have that ability!"

The Greaper floated close to Luigi, "Calm down, we're not here to frighten you! We're the Three Musty Fears and you are in Monstro Town!" Luigi then calmed down somewhat.

"Yeah, Monstro Town is located all the way out here near Land's End!" said the Boo as it stretched its mouth and stuck out its tongue. "You are a very long way from home."

"Land's End used to be part of a place called 'Mage Land', homeland of the Shaman and many other types of wizards," started the Dry Bones. "It came back thanks to the Shaman of Shadows' meddling. You can see it from outside. It's been a week since you came here."

"Yeah, you were hurt pretty badly and a really pretty sorceress found you in the valley outside the village!" said the Boo as he comically played with his own face.

The Dry Bones rattled, "While she healed you she murmured that you have something to do with a prophecy. Mm-hmm, sounds exciting!"

"You can also use this bed anytime you desire, we don't mind!" the Greaper said.

A sudden knock at the door grabbed the three spirits' attention, "Well, it looks like she's back! Let's make ourselves scarce boys!" Greaper said with a chuckle.

"Right!" said the other two spirits as they all three vanished.

"Don't forget what we told you!" the three said in unison.

Luigi rose from his bed suddenly as a female wizard came into the room and turned on the lights. The light in question actually came from a mushroom monster called an Amanita. "Ah, you've awoken…," she said cheerfully. Her robes were white with red accents and she had bright pink fluffy hair that came from under her hood. Her hair was parted at the center and the side burns were like tassels that reached her chest. She was slightly shorter than Luigi as he got out of bed and met her gaze. "It looks like my healing magic did the trick."

"Who are you?" Luigi asked curiously.

"I am a type of wizard known as a 'Sage', my name is Merlessa, pleased to meet you Mr. Green!" she said with a slightly childish tone. "Don't be fooled by my size, I'm older than I look! You have a friend and my Uncle Merlon waiting for you outside! Let's go tell them you've recovered!" she finished as she took Luigi's hand and drug him outside playfully. Luigi blushed as she cheerfully tugged his hand.

*Monstro Town*

Luigi and Merlessa emerged from the cavernous room and found themselves in a town that was set in a rocky cliff-side that was populated by friendly monsters. The town overlooked the seemingly endless ocean. Merlon and Gadd came rushing up to Luigi overjoyed at his recovery. "Oyamaa, you had us worried sick my boy!" Gadd said with relief.

"I'm glad you have risen from your slumber Luigi, after the Shaman of Shadows transported us to Land's End we got separated," Merlon explained with a sign of relief. "I do apologize, I was only able to save the Professor. I am sorry. Luckily, as Fate would have it, my niece here saved you and brought us all back here."

"I was surprised that Uncle Merlon came here too! I was just expecting you!" Merlessa said to Luigi.

Luigi pointed to himself, "You were, expecting me? How?" he asked baffled.

"Yes, the Shaman of Shadows has risen from his three thousand year's worth of captivity and it is said in our scrolls that he will be vanquished by the 'Green Thunder'!" Merlessa claimed happily as she twirled. "I read your palm and you definitely have the Thunderhand with you!"

"You read my palm?" Luigi said as he gazed at his right hand.

"Yep, like this!" Merlessa said as she grasped Luigi's right hand with both of her hands. Luigi's hand suddenly lit up with a surge of electricity. The Thunderhand, a mystical Devine ability given to him by the Thunder God while he and Mario traveled the Beanbean Kingdom was one of Luigi's newer powers. Luigi blushed as Merlessa held his hand gently, unfazed by his lightning power.

"Luigi, while you were out I kept seeing vague premonitions with you beating the Shaman of Shadows," Merlon claimed. "The Thunderhand is a blessing given by the Thunder God and it has not been seen since the Shaman of Shadow's era."

"The Thunderhand would be classified as an Air type spell to us Shaman, but its different because of its Divine status!" Merlessa described. "It has many special traits that many magic spells don't!"

Gadd stepped forward hoping to interject, "Not to be rude, but what is this all about? As a man of science I beg you for some insight!"

"Well, I suppose its time to fill Luigi in on what's been happening," Merlessa said gaining a more serious tone.

"This story begins three thousand years ago," Merlon claimed. Luigi exhaled with a whistled as the age of the story blew his mind. "There was once a Shaman that showed incredible potential. While there are many that do and go on to do wonderful things, this one did not. While I am uncertain of Merloom's personal history I can tell you that he was supposedly unsatisfied with the magic he received from the spirits of Fire, Water, Air and Earth the four aspects that Shaman are known for. Until this day no one really knows why or how, but he received a type of power that let him bend shadows and ghosts to his will. Doing this however, caused him to fall away from his four other practices and take up this 'ghost magic' obsessively. The story claims that practicing this type of power turned him undead and he was sealed away by the leaders of the wizards for making dark deals with evil spirits."

Luigi was sitting on the ground crossed legged and listening intently as a young child would. "Is that all? I was kinda hoping for more...," Luigi said intrigued.

Gadd scratched his head, "I thought your people only told fortunes."

"Fortune and Premonition are something all types of wizards partake in," said Merlessa cheerfully as she swayed her robes back and forth.

"Nevertheless, Merloom was considered a 'boogie man' to us wizards! He inspired many villainous characters in our children's bedtime stories!" Merlon continued. "When Mario was fighting him he was saying something about some kind of deal he had to complete. I only worry about what that will bring..."

"After he was sealed away...," Merlessa took over. "Our people lost our home to his curse and it drifted into the Spirit World. Now that he's back Mage Land has returned as well!"

Gadd seemed confused, "How did he end up in the Kerokero Sewers then?"

"Unknown, but those sewers lead all over the place," Merlon stated.

"He may have been tossed down there after being sealed up and eventually came to rest beneath the Mushroom Kingdom. Those sewers are ancient after all and run just about everywhere!" Merlessa pointed out.

"After that the Wizard Clans dispersed across the Mushroom World hiding in back alleys performing our arts to help others," Merlon claimed. "We waited for this day to come…"

"Oyamaa, this is what the progenies of Mage Land have been doing this whole time?" Gadd asked befuddled. "Living in fear of this boogie man?"

"Say's the man who just witnessed one of the most famous people in the world get defeated by him!" Merlon said sharply.

Merlon's statement made Luigi sulk as he recalled what happened to Mario. Merlessa laid her hand on Luigi's shoulder. "Don't worry friend, you can get your brother back and the Princess of your nation. Just let us give you a hand!"

Gadd adjusted his glasses as he walked up to Luigi with an object in his hands, "Luigi, I managed to find Mario's Hammer. It must have also gotten pulled into the portal with us. I think you should use it!" he said with a grunt as he struggled to hand it to Luigi. Luigi effortlessly picked up the mallet with merely a hand. He stared at it glumly, wishing he had done more to help Mario and Peach.

Merlessa walked to the cliff-side, "Take a look Mr. Green, out there in the ocean, the floating land mass you see is Mage Land. It emerged while you slumbered. Merloom has returned there with your brother and you princess. That is where you need to go."

"What does Merloom even want with Peach?" Gadd asked glumly.

"I'm not sure, Merloom has no real need for either maybe he just wants more bargaining options," Merlessa guessed. "Or more worshipers..."

"Luigi, the monsters here in Monstro Town are friendly and want to help you in any way they can, why not get to know a few of them and see what they have to offer you?" Merlon suggested.

"Ah yes, there is another sorceress here in the town bazaar that has recently gained favor with the higher ups," Merlessa claimed. "The Witch Merlicity is an excellent saleswoman! Her items are sure to help you!"

"Luigi, I think I will set up a new lab in the room you were in," Gadd said rather tired out. "I'm going to study Merloom as much as I can. Oh and by the way, take this updated 'Dual Scream' it will help you keep track of things! Let me know if you find anything interesting."

"Thank you!" Luigi said as he took the updated Dual Scream. He happily fiddled with the Dual Scream and found that it had a 3D function. Merlessa and Merlon gazed out over the ocean and at Mage Land as Gadd entered what would become his new laboratory. Luigi adjusted his neck and began humming a tune as he decided to talk to some of the residents of Monstro Town.

Luigi gazed at the town and realized that most places were lined up next door to each other in a single file line. Luigi simply chose to start with the first house on the left. Inside was an elderly female toad with a brown spotted mushroom cap and red clothes. Luigi approached her and introduced himself, "Hello!" he said kindly.

She looked back at Luigi and smiled, "Oh, you're the handsome young man that the young Sage was tending too, my you seem familiar. I'm glad you've recovered!" she said cheerfully. "My name is Monstermamma and I am the landlady here. I help these reformed monsters from reverting into their old lifestyles. Feel free to make yourself at home!"

Luigi took the elders advice to heart and it made him more relaxed. Luigi made himself at home as he made his way upstairs and found a grey rat-like monster called a Ratfink, a treasure box monster called a Chester, a brown canine-like creature called a Chow and a starfish-like creature called a Starslap gathered around four wooden crates playing a strange game of cards. Luigi decided to talk to a few of them, "The Shaman of Shadows, what a scary sounding guy. I hear he brought forth a bunch of ghosts with him when he returned!" said the Ratfink with a shiver. This made Luigi shiver a bit as well.

"Hey there, you're the fella that Merlessa was going on about!" said the Chow. "I've heard you're a great jumper. If that's true than I have a little game for you! If you can beat 1000 ghoulies over in Mage Land by jumping on them then I'll give you a special trinket! All you need to do is give me your friend code for that Dual Scream and I can count for you. When you succeed, I'll contact you!" the Chow finished. Luigi registered the Chow's friend code, excused himself, and he then turned to the Chester.

The Chester noticed him with a wide 'grin', "Hey there, I hear you jump around a lot. Have you ever hit your head on a Hidden Block? They can be quite hazardous sometimes, knocking you into holes and such. If you do find one they are loaded with treasure! I'm a monster that can see them even when invisible. I hear the wizards have artifacts that can let them see them. Since your going to Wizard Land I know that there are many Hidden Blocks there. Tell you what, if you manage to find them all I'll give you something nice! Just lend me your friend code and I can contact you when you've earned it!" Luigi gave his friend code to the creature and excused himself.

Luigi then turned to the Starslap, "Hi there, I love to dance, but right now I'm shivering because of all the evil in the air. So instead I'm humming a tune to keep myself calm! I hear that you do the same. I also hear that your style of fighting is much like break dancing. That's so cool I'll bet its even cooler when you use your Thunderhand in conjunction with your punches. Since the Thunderhand's a supernatural attack you can even hurt spirits and ghosts with it! If you want to know more, go see Jinx!"

With no one left in the house, Luigi politely excused himself and went next door. In the confines within this house, Merlon and Merlessa studied their enemy and offered Luigi help in the form of insight. Luigi overheard their conversation, "Merlessa how did Merlicity get favor from the higher ups, she's an imbecile!" Merlon claimed comically.

"Hmm, she may be greedy and has a thing for handsome men, but she does have a knack for getting what people want," Merlessa explained. Luigi moved away with a smile and let them continue talking.

On the crates in the back of the room stood a Piranha Plant that seemed to be listening intently to the wall. Luigi, curious, spoke to the plant, "Shh, I swear I hear something strange next door, but I can't tell what it is. It sure does send shivers down my leaves though…" Luigi left the home and found that the neighbor's door was shut tightly. Despite all of his strength he could not so much as make the door budge.

Luigi decided to give up on the door and continue down the line and found that it was a shop. Inside were shelves that were stacked to the brim and a female wizard who wore brown fur laden robes tended to her stock. "One moment please," she said with a heavy womanly tone. She turned around once she was done and her long blonde hair flowed from her furry hood. Like all wizards, she had a crystal ball around her neck and curl-tipped shoes. "Oh, I've been expecting you handsome!" she said with a wink. "Allow me to introduce myself! I am Merlicity and the new owner of this shop! The original Goomba that owned it left and I just moved right in! Feel free to browse a bit if you like!"

Luigi decided to do a little window shopping. Luigi viewed the rather bare shelves. She sold some Shroom Shakes, but that was about it. Luigi thought that she had so little due to still just moving in. Before he turned to the shopkeeper an item caught his eye on the highest shelf. Merlicity noted his curiosity. Luigi was staring at a white feather that was sealed inside a clear block. "Oh, you want to know about that do you? It's just a family heirloom, I hear that rare feather brings the holder lots of gold or something to that affect, but I don't know much else about it or how its supposed to do that," she claimed. With that, Luigi excused himself and continued on his way.

"Merlon said you sold items that could help me?" Luigi said politely.

"For a cutie like you I have a discount!" Merlicity said cheerfully. "I hear you're going to Mage Land as part of a prophecy. I worked to gain the favor of the head clan so I could meet you personally. Since your going to Mage Land you'll need this!" she said as she pulled an ornate golden whistle from her robes. As she did so the whistle emitted a strange air. Luigi was quite taken by it. "This little do-dad is a Mage Land Warp Whistle. Play it and you will be able to warp to any place you have visited in Mage Land, including Monstro Town. Unlike other Warp Whistles, this has unlimited uses! Ordinarily, such an artifact would cost over 1000 coins, but for a handsome young fellow like you, it will cost only 100, what do you say?" she said smiling. Luigi went through his pockets and gave every coin he had. "Great, you won't regret this, I promise! I may be greedy and shrewd but I always provide the best quality items and I never lie about them. After all I want my customers to come back!" Luigi took the Warp Whistle and stored it safely away. "Oh, one more thing, when you get to Mage Land you'll come across purple coins with a typical wizard's face engraved on them. These are called, 'Wizard Coins', if you collect them I can sell you very special items!" she added. Luigi excused himself and Merlicity waved him off flirtatiously with her rings rattling on her fingers.

Upon leaving the shop, Luigi found that all the other homes had been stuffed with very talkative monsters. Eventually he came to the room on a high ledge. Luigi performed a High Jump to reach it. Inside was a martial arts dojo with a peach colored diminutive humanoid creature that was no taller than Luigi's shin. He wore a red cape and had a green Mohawk. "Ah, I knew you'd be stopping by, my name is Jinx," he said strongly. "You are kin to Mario are you not? Out to avenge your brother whose soul was taken by the Shaman of Shadows? If you so wish it I can help you hone your skills. I see you carry the Thunderhand. Your enemies are ghosts, spirits and wizards of all kinds, but with that move you can attack them if you combine it with your fists! You won't even need a flash-light to stun them! Enemies of flesh and blood will be stunned by the electric shock allowing you to finish them. If you train with me and complete all my lessons I will grant you the Jinx Belt!

Luigi took a comical fighting stance, "Let's-a go!" he said.

"Good, come at me Mario Brother use this pair of Punch Gloves!" Jinx demanded as he tossed him a pair of powerful white fighting gloves. Luigi placed on the Punch Gloves and attacked Jinx and as the two tangoed, Luigi found that the master was not all talk. He found out very quickly, that the diminutive man was incredibly strong. "Slam your fists together and channel your Thunderhand into them!" Jinx commanded. Luigi did as he was told and his hands gleamed with electricity. Covered with bright electricity, Luigi sent his fists flying. The tatami mats beneath him were burned by Luigi's Thunderhand when he failed to connect it to Jinx. "Very good you learn quickly!" Jinx continued. "The Punch Glove enhances your physical attack power and the Thunderhand gives it an elemental affinity. It's great for stunning individual foes!" Jinx laughed heartily as he continued, "Return to me later and I can teach you more when you progress!"

Luigi nodded, "Thank you!" he said with a wave as he left the dojo. With his mind set, Luigi then returned to E. Gadd.

To his amazement, E. Gadd had a working Laboratory up and running, with computers and other machines. "Wow Professor, you work fast!" Luigi said astounded

"Ah, Luigi glad you're here I have something to give you!" he said cheerfully. He presented Luigi with a new Poltergust. "This is a modified version of the Poltergust 5000! It was made to suck up the spirits here in Mage Land. From what I understand the spirits here have magical properties even more so than normal. Even elemental spirits I've never seen before are lurking about. I want to study them Luigi so its all up to you it seems!" he said as he handed the vacuum to Luigi.

Luigi placed it on and toyed with it a little, "Here we go again...," he said with a slight shiver.

"Not to worry my boy, I'll explain your updated version of the Poltergust in more depth when you get to Mage Land!" Gadd claimed.

As Luigi left he wondered how he would even get to the floating island to start with. He stood starring as he thought with a puzzled expression. Then Merlessa came to him, "Ah good, I see your ready to go to Mage Land now!" she started. "Over there in the corner near that rocky wall there is a cannon that is maintained by some Bob-omb buddies. They said they can shoot you to Mage Land with it! Good Luck!"

Luigi wandered over to the Bob-omb Buddies and found two of them standing near a square metal plate in the ground that had their image on it. "Heya buddy, this cannon here can take you to Mage Land we just finished tweaking it and its all ready to go!" one explained as he opened the small door in the ground and a massive cannon emerged. "Just hop on in and we'll do the rest!" he finished.

Before Luigi could act, Merlon approached, "Luigi, one more thing," he started as Luigi gave him his full attention. "It seems Merloom has gained some help over the past week. There are seven other wizards that have taken up residence in Mage Land and they have cursed it. Unless you can find another way, you'll have to beat them all to reach Merloom," he explained.

"Okie dokie!" Luigi said taking note. With that he hopped into the cannon and the Bob-omb buddy aimed it for him. With a loud bang, Luigi was shot out and he was hurled towards Mage Land with a comical scream.

One of the buddies looked at the other, "Hey, I didn't say anything until now, but I found a missing gear earlier. You don't think that will affect the cannon's aim do you?"

"Gee, I hope not!" replied the other.

Merlon freaked, "No, he's headed right into the Feasting Swamp!"

"Whoops...," the buddies said in unison.

*The Feasting Swamp*

"Waaaahhh!" Luigi screamed as he fell through thick weeping willow trees and eventually into a thick nasty swamp head first. Luigi managed to pull himself from the sticky swamp water but as soon as he wiped his face a mass emerged from the water. It took the shape of a nasty looking wizard and it moaned as it approached Luigi. He soon found himself surrounded by many more. They glared at him as if he were food. "Mama mia!" Luigi shouted as he struggled to escape capture. No matter how many he struck down with the Thunderhand more took its place. "This isn't working!" Luigi said as he crouched and used his High Jump to reach the treetops. Once Luigi escaped the waters, the creatures also retreated. "That was close!" he said wiping his brow.

Then Luigi heard an unfamiliar voice call out to him from below. The voice belonged to a harmless looking wizard that was ferrying a small wooden boat. He waved Luigi down in a friendly manner. "Hello there, would you like a ride?" asked the ferryman.

Luigi shrugged and leaped down to the boat. "Thank you!" he said. Luigi got a good look at his rescuer and seen that he was a very unusual wizard. His face and eyes were completely gone from under his hood. Only darkness was visible and he had tarnished trinkets all over his robes that once looked important. He spoke with voice of a wise gravelly elder. "One must stay clear of the waters in the Feasting Swamp lest you be consumed by the lost souls that reside within," he warned as he began paddling the boat forward with nothing but a large stick.

"Where are we going?" Luigi asked curiously.

The ferryman chuckled, "I will take you to your first stop of course! A forest known as 'The Living Thicket' we can dock at the small village there. It would be best to stay out of this swamp, the Feasting Swamp makes up most of Mage Land. A long time ago the waters were clear and it was a beautiful place. Sadly, it now is haunted by the hungry spirits of the dead. I can take you anywhere through the Feasting Swamp so there's no need for worry. As long as we stay in this boat we will be fine!"

"That's a relief!" Luigi said with a deep breath. "How did you know I was even out here if this swamp takes up most of Mage Land?"

"That my friend is a secret for another day!" the ferryman chuckled. "For now, I'll act as your transport through Mage Land! I know the ride may be a bit boring but I can offer you a story to ease your mind if you wish."

"That's fine, my name's Luigi by the way!" Luigi said introducing himself. "But I wonder what has become of my brother and the Princess!"

*One Week Ago, ?*

Princess Peach stirred as she woke in a dark damp place that was dimly lit with wall torches. "Oww, my head," she moaned as she sat up. She was not bound by any means and began to walk around the strange place after coming to her senses. Water dripped on her head as she traversed the halls. "This place looks like a large water treatment plant of some kind, but its positively ancient...," Peach deduced out loud. Eventually, after searching for some time, she came to a large mechanical steel door. She could hear two voices as she listened closely. She placed her ear on the door and she could hear clearly enough to know what they were talking about.

"The voices, the voices..., oh this is maddening!" came the voice of Merloom. "Take it, the deal is fulfilled! You said you would make the trade after my Ebony Crystal Ball was filled with souls! It is now filled so I want my Urn of Underland Valley Shadows like you promised! These voices of agony will drive me mad!"

Another voice could be heard as its owner responded to Merloom's griping. "And you shall have it Shaman! Let me see your Ebony Crystal Ball!" said the voice as Peach snuck her eye through the crack. She was awe struck that the owner of the voice was non other than the King of All Boos. The King of All Boos was seemingly disheveled as he wore a battered crown with no jewel in it. "After three thousand years this deal is completed!" said King Boo with excitement. King Boo giggled menacingly as he admired Merloom's personal crystal ball. He then witnessed Mario's soul pounding on the glass. He nearly lost himself in ecstacy, "Oh, oh, oh, is this? Yes, this is! It's Mario, oh what a wonderful treat this turned out to be! I'm so glad I waited for your seal to break! It's like a snow globe! Oh, the voices of agony are like a symphony to me!" he said as he moved the crystal ball about and about as if looking for someone else.

Merloom cleared his throat, "Ahem, the Urn?" he said growing impatient.

"Hmm, one question Shaman?" King Boo started. "Did you by any chance get 'both' of these people in here? I see Mario, but not Luigi..."

"What is a Luigi?" Merloom asked puzzled. "When I filled that thing I came immediately back here through a Warp Zone, but a few stragglers got through with me. There was this blond woman in pink garb that ended up with that peddler's empty shell but nothing more. The woman was unconscious so I decided to bring her and the peddler's body here with me until I decide to do something with them."

King Boo rolled his eyes in grave disappointment, "I knew that was too good to be true!" he moaned.

Peach backed up in horror, "No, I have to think of something!" she thought.

Peach tried to sneak away quietly but King Boo appeared directly in front of her scaring her and forcing her to the ground. "Did you really think I didn't sense your presence Peach? Merloom come here!"

Merloom opened the mechanical door and faced Peach from behind her, "Hmm? Now what are up to my dear? Do you intend to conspire against me?"

"I won't be bullied by the likes of you!" Peach said with a fierce glare.

"Oh ho, someone has gotten a brave streak in them as of late!" King Boo said with a smile. "Merloom, this woman is the Princess of the nation you just sucked into this ball. She is well known for her healing magic as well as other things!"

"Hmm, healing magic eh? That could be a slight pain in the butt!" Merloom claimed.

"So why don't you go ahead and place her soul into the crystal ball!" King Boo suggested as he tossed Merloom his ball.

"What, but this thing is already loaded! Anymore and it may burst!" Merloom claimed with warning.

"Do it Shaman! One more couldn't hurt!" King Boo stated obsessively.

"Very well!" Merloom said as he began chanting in an unknown language. Peach could only watch in horror as she felt very strange. It was as if her breath was being stolen from her lungs. The light of the Ebony Crystal Ball felt like it was drawing her into it. As the energy flowed the crystal ball began to do something strange. It began to flicker and then finally a 'y' shaped fracture appeared and Merloom stopped his incantation. Peach fell back down and regained her senses while breathing heavily. "I told you it would break you greedy ghost!" Merloom cursed.

The ball flashed like a strobe light, "What, wait! Now what's happening?!" King Boo muttered as the ball fell from Merloom's hands and began to shake violently. The crack illuminated itself as a spirit escaped from it. It was Mario's soul escaping from its prison.

"Mama mia what a cramped up space!" Mario said as he stretched. "I was caught like lint in drain filter!"

"Mario!" Peach said regaining hope.

"Peach! Follow Mario!" Mario said as he punched King Boo aside and Peach followed quickly behind.

King Boo grew furious and his anger shook the structure, "Mario, no! You get back in there! GRRRRR!" he shouted angrily.

Merloom picked up his crystal ball, "Take the ball and give me my Urn!" he demanded.

"Fine, take it!" King Boo said as he made a large and very evil looking Urn appear from a puff of smoke. It was made of blackened stone, nearly as tall as Merloom himself and had ghostly carvings all over it. Most notably, four faces that were erected from four sides of the urn. King Boo scooped up the crystal ball and decided to go after Mario, but he stopped before he did. Wait, I just got an idea..., an evil, awful idea..., hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, HEE!"

"What? Aren't you going after them?" Merloom asked as he admired his new toy.

"Peach can't escape this building so there's no need to panic, but I just hatched a plan to take down Luigi!" King Boo claimed. "Just watch and learn wizard!"

*End of Prologue!*


	3. 1-1: The Sleeping Village of the Druids

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

World 1 - The Forest of the Druids

1-1: The Sleeping Village of Druids

The ferryman gave Luigi a little more insight into Mage Land, "Mage Land was the land that magic was first used in this world's history. There was only one place that was around before us. That place was Dinosaur Land. I sense you've been there before, hmm? Anyway, while Mage Land was the land of magic we deemed it necessary to stay secluded. The folks of the Mushroom World were not yet ready to learn of such power. So we kept to ourselves and used otherworldly forces to command our island into the skies! At the time, one would need magic or at least a magical item to reach Mage Land after we took to the sky. However, most creatures then could not even use magical items such as the Cape Feather or Super Leaf effectively. We enjoyed our peace when we had it and also suffered hardship when it came. The point was we kept our problems to ourselves so no one would be burdened by us."

Luigi felt a tad melancholic from the story, "That sounds more lonesome than productive. Didn't you want any friends?" he asked curiously.

"Friendship was hard to come by in those days, nevertheless, that did not stop a small group of wizard's from venturing out into the outside world to barter and trade with others on routine occasions," the ferryman explained. "To most people we were a people of mystery and myth with unknown origin," he finished with a sense of pride. Luigi continued to soak in the info as a decrepit wooden dock came into view among the willows. "Ah, here we are, The Living Thicket! Your first stop will be at the Village of the Druids!"

"What's a druid?" Luigi asked as the boat came to a dock.

"You will find out soon enough. I shall ask these three guide you!" the ferryman said as he snapped his fingers.

Appearing from thin air, the Three Musty Fears appeared before Luigi, freaking him out a little. "Greetings! It looks like we formally meet you this time!" said the Greaper.

"Yeah, we'll help guide you through Mage Land! Kinda like, oh what do they call..., oh yes, like tour guides!" Boo said stretching his face.

"This is more than a tour Boo, we got a job to do!" Dry Bones said seriously.

"Well then, shall we begin?" Greaper asked as pleasantly as a ghost could.

"Remember Luigi...," the ferryman started. "You can always return to me at anytime if you want to move around Mage Land! Good luck!"

With that, The Three Musty Fears hid within Luigi's shadow. He then nodded and walked up to the bamboo portcullis and opened it with caution. "We'll stay within your shadow, so just call if you need our advice!" echoed Greaper's voice.

Luigi dismissed them as he walked into town, "Hello...?" he said nervously.

Luigi took a moment to take in the scenery. The place was cursed just as he expected. The grass was dead and nearly absent altogether, tree houses filled the village but had no leaves, instead what replaced them filled Luigi with worry. "Fuzzies, better be careful not to touch those, I'll end up three sheets to the wind if I do!" he thought. Any other plant had been drained of life and the village was filled with poisonous mushrooms as well as the white puffy dandelion like 'Fuzzies'.

Greaper emerged from Luigi's shadow, eager to explain something. "Ah, you asked earlier what a Druid was? A Druid is a class of wizard that, for the most part centers their style of magic around nature. Plants and animals are the tools of their trade. Their highest level spells however, draw power from the phases of the sun and moon and even the alignment of stars and planets!" he explained.

"Oh, that's much clearer!" Luigi responded.

Greaper then returned and Luigi entered into a three way intersection. "Everything in this town is too quiet! Its freaking me out!" Luigi thought. The intersection had a closed bamboo gate with a lock on front of him and two road's that went left or right. They seemed to lead into the town on both sides and circle it. The gate however seemed to bar his path into the town square.

As Luigi was busy lost in his thoughts he was spooked by a call from Gadd. "Hello? Luigi? I said I would explain a few things about the Poltergust when I gave it to you. Well, this is as good a time as any I suppose. First off this Poltergust is the same one you used last time you fought with King Boo. It's the Poltergust 5000 but with an upgrade! For now I'm just going to call it the Poltergust 5500! I kept the Dark-Light Device as I thought you might need it but after I learned of your Thunderhand skill it wasn't necessary to keep the Strobulb so I removed it. I still kept the Flashlight so you can look around dark areas for clues. Don't worry about the loss of the Strobulb though, I have something new in store for a replacement! You'll have to wait until I finish it though, of course... Anyway, that's all I needed to tell you..., oh, wait I nearly forgot! Since many of the ghoulies over their will have physical bodies the Poltergust won't work. For instance, those cultist wizards we fought back in the Mushroom Kingdom? I did some study and it turns out they are in fact undead. So feel free to smack'em around and soften them up with those rock hard fists of yours and then finish'em off when they flee their physical form with the Poltergust! Okay, that concludes that. If you need anymore tips, I included a guide in your Dual Scream 3DS!"

Luigi placed his Dual Scream away and after taking a calming breath he heard the sound of something in the distance. "Do I hear music?" Luigi thought curiously. He looked every which way but could not pinpoint the location of the noise. He began to check around the village as he took a left and went down a dirt path that took him to what seemed to be the trade district of the town. Then suddenly, a door opened in a house not to far from where Luigi was walking. A little Druid girl walked out in a strange state. Luigi sighed in relief, "Oh, its just a little girl," he said out loud. "Hello, little bambina!" he said as he approached the green robed girl.

"Tee hee!" the girl laughed strangely as she moved erratically with her eyes seemingly closed.

Luigi outstretched his hand in a friendly manner, "Hello, I'm a visitor from...!" he said as he was cut off, due to the little girl biting down on his hand. "Yeeow! SUFFERIN' SPAGHETTI! Why did you do that? Didn't your parent's teach you any manners?!" he said as he recoiled, rubbing his hand.

"Tee hee!" giggled the little girl as her eyes were still completely closed.

Boo appeared and pointed to a cloth overhang to Luigi's left, "Get away from her Mr. Green, she's bewitched!"

"Uh oh!" Luigi replied as he jumped up to some nearby stumps and onto a rooftop.

Then suddenly, following the little girl, came a whole crowd a villagers under the same spell as they filled the village. "Wow, certainly is a lot of them!" Boo said looking around as if something else had his attention. "Do you hear something weird cause I do and I find it annoying! Anyway, let's get to higher ground so these druids don't sink their teeth into you again!"

"Okey dokey!" Luigi replied as Boo vanished back into his shadow. Luigi continued forth as he jumped across the street to a wooden platform that encircled a tree. These platforms were connected via vine and plank bridges. As Luigi stepped on these bridges he noticed they were weak and had some steps that fell if he stayed on one for too long.

Luigi stopped his fast paced jog as he came to the first form of resistance Mage Land had to offer. A cultist from before had appeared before him. "I'm ready for you this time you pest!" Luigi said as he charged the cultist with his Thunderhand. Luigi landed a combo consisting of a right and left hook followed with a kick. The cultists body vanished in smoke and a ghost took its place. It was stunned by Luigi's Thunderhand so he finished it with his Poltergust. "Yeah, I did it!" he cheer with a twirl of his nozzle.

As Luigi progressed he was met with all sorts of critters. He mostly punched and stomped out other cultists and sucked up ghosts he was familiar with such as Peepas, Gold Ghosts and Ghoul Guys.

"I got to figure out what's making the druids act so strange!" Luigi said as a Golden Ghost appeared before him with a powerful screech. Luigi screamed and lost his footing. He fell from the tree tops but still managed to save himself. As soon as Luigi landed the druids noticed and dashed towards him to attack him. "Wah!" Luigi screamed as the druids made a dog pile on him and were biting and scratching him. Luigi gathered enough strength to throw them off and run through the village hoping to find a way back up.

Luigi managed to find some breathing room and use his High Jump to get back to the treetops. Greaper came forth irately, "Okay, that noise is getting ridiculous, WHAT IS THAT?!" he complained angrily.

Luigi placed his hand to his ear and listened for a few moments, "It sounds like a Music Box!" he deduced.

"Ah, of course a Music Box!" Greaper realized. "That explains the druid's sleepwalking!"

"Sleepwalking?" Luigi asked with a few blinks of his eyelids.

"Yes, Music Box's were invented by humans," Greaper told. "You see Music Box's were created to soothe your kind with lullaby's but they had un unexpected effect on wizards. And sometimes Koopas..."

"Why is that?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Well you see, wizards are spiritual creatures and their tongues are as important to them as a runner's feet are as important to them!" Greaper began. "Wizards use vocal incantations that connect their spirits to the spirit world allowing them to use their spells. Music uses vocalization as well but its much more effective as it uses notes as well as words. It creates a more complex harmony in spirit. Let me explain further; a Music Box can play a song that travels through the air and disrupt spells. Depending on what kind of song is played a different effect will take place. Now not all music can do this to a wizard, but this type of Music Box is made as an Anti-Magic device. The notes can drown out a wizard's incantation or place a special effect on them."

"And these druids are the target!" Luigi followed. "By the sound of it, it sounds like a type of lullaby."

"Hmm, now that we know that, where do we look for it?" Greaper asked puzzled.

Luigi scanned the village for a 'good' place to store something where everyone could hear it. Then something caught his eye, "Hey, that tall tree at the center of town looks like a good place to look!"

"Good thinking, let's get a move on!" Greaper said as he vanished.

Luigi continued on the trail he was already on until he came to a dead end. At this dead end stood a giant pillar of stone that was surrounded by a strange ring of larger stones. The pillar in the center had a small hole in it. Luigi noticed a few druids around and decided to jump down to the shrine as soon as it was clear. Once it was Luigi jumped down to investigate and found a small stone no larger than a lump of charcoal. It had a primitive 'Sun' engraving on it. The druids noticed what Luigi had done and began heading towards him. "Wah!" Luigi screamed as he performed a High Jump to get back to the tree tops. Only this time he whacked his head on a Hidden Block that spewed out copious amounts of Coins, Bills, a Gold Bar and a Ruby. Luigi rubbed his head as he regained his senses. Using his vacuum, he eagerly sucked up all the treasure while trying to avoid the grabs of the druids. Satisfied, Luigi High Jumped again and made his way back to the large bamboo gate near the entrance to the village.

The Three Musty Fears reappeared as Luigi came to the gate. He turned to them, "Hey, that's a nice trinket you got there!" Greaper noticed.

"Do you know what that is?" Boo asked.

Luigi shrugged, "Not really, but I think its important!" he replied.

"It's a Rune Stone!" Dry Bones rattled.

"Rune Stones are ordinary stones that have magical sigils carved into them!" Greaper explained. "Look, that lock on the bamboo gate... It has two indentations in it that are shaped like that stone. Since there's two I don't think I have to tell you, you need another stone to open that gate, so hop to it Mister Green your destiny awaits!"

Luigi took the right path this time and he noticed this area had some platforms that were tied to vines that acted like scales when stepped on. Luigi easily scaled the treacherous jumps until he came to a Hint Block that resembled a blue speaker box. "Hey, I remember these from Dinosaur Land!" he said as he hit the Hint Block. What came from it quickly gave Luigi chills. It was nothing but strange growling and a lot of whispering and static. It sent chills down his spine. Then suddenly, the Dual Scream went off in his pocket.

It was Gadd with a call, "Luigi, what was that just now? The Dual Scream picked up something strange!"

"I hit a Hint Block but it gave me a lot of strange noises instead of directions!" Luigi said nervously.

"Oh, well it seems even the Hint Blocks have a secret!" Gadd started with eagerness. "Have you ever heard of EVP? It stands for 'Electronic Voice Phenomenon'! That Hint Block has a recording on it the spirits are trying to tell you Luigi! I believe we'll learn more about this land and our enemy if you hit more of those Hint Blocks and let the Dual Scream pick up their messages. I'll try to decipher them here! When you return I'll have this message decoded!" he said as he ended the call. Luigi shivered at having to hit those cursed Hint Blocks, but figured it was for the best.

Similar to last time, Luigi made his way to a dead end and another shrine was located. Luigi waited for the druids to spread out and he made his move. Luigi quickly grabbed the rune stone in the hole and High Jumped back to higher ground. He noticed this stone had a carving of the moon on it. Luigi fought his way back as expected and finally returned with the stone.

Luigi then placed the stone in the lock next to its counterpart and it fell off with an audible 'thud'. The gate then began to open to him. Luigi swallowed hard as he made his way past the gate.

He trekked down a slowly elevating trail fighting off the resistance and avoiding fuzzies. Until finally, he made it to the center of the village and looked skyward at the large thick tree and the large stone pillar shrine around it. Another Hint Block greeted him before all else though. He hit it and let the Dual Scream record its eerie message.

Now it was time to find that pesky Music Box. Luigi dispatched the light resistance in the area so he could find some peace while he searched for it. The music it played made it hard to track it down as it somehow made itself hard to pinpoint. He then noticed that he could climb the large tree as there was a small platform located up top. It was snugly fit in between two large branches. He then scaled the large tree with every bit of his jumping skill. Once at the top he noticed a telescope was all that was up there. "That's disappointing, where could it possibly be?" Luigi asked himself out loud. Then he got an idea, he decided to shine his Dark-Light Device around and sure enough a hidden object next to the telescope began to manifest back into the physical world. Now its music could clearly be heard. Luigi then smashed it with his brother's hammer and the music stopped.

As Luigi climbed back down, the druids approached and began crowding around him. This time though, they were fully awake and in control of themselves. "Oh thank goodness!" Luigi sighed with relief.

He was then approached by what appeared to be their chief. "Thank you stranger, our curse has been lifted! We can't thank you enough!" he said gratefully.

"Who placed that music box up there?" Luigi asked hoping for a clue.

The druid leader seemed shaken, "It was a wicked druid that was corrupted by the Shaman of Shadows," he started shivering. "We call her... 'The Rag Hag'. She hides deep within the Living Thicket in the abandoned greenhouse! She sits deep inside sewing her seeds of corruption that now curse this land!"

Luigi gulped, "Well, I guess I have to go to the greenhouse then...," he said reluctantly.

The chief then realized something as he got a good look at Luigi, "You're going after her? Then that means you're the Green Thunder! The one from the prophecy! Even though we know you can defeat her, we still urge you to be careful around her! She grows many poisonous mushrooms and cursed plants in there!"

"Thank you for the advice!" Luigi said trying to abate his fear.

The friendly druids pointed Luigi to the exit behind the large tree. This exit took him directly into the Living Thicket itself. Needless to say it was dark, gloomy and cursed. Luigi received much thanks and praise before he left and then left the village to continue his journey.

The Three Musty Fears appeared before Luigi outside town just before he entered the forest. "Nice job Mister Green," Greaper congratulated.

"Yeah, but we're just getting started!" Boo followed.

"Let's find out more about this, 'Rag Hag' as we make our way to her. She may have some secrets we can exploit!" Dry Bones chattered.

"Let's go!" Luigi said as he entered the forest.

*End of Chapter*


	4. 1-2: Hide N Seek in the Living Thicket

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

1-2: Hide N Seek in the Living Thicket

Luigi set foot on a grassy knoll that had not seen outsiders for over 3000 years. He gazed deeply into the Thicket and found it to be absolutely haunting. The landscape was covered by a light fog and the skies were filled with blackened clouds. He shivered with fear as he gazed further into the dark pine thicket that lay before him. Rising above the pine trees loomed a stormy mountain to the south region. Thunder rumbled across the blackened skies as lightning became the only source of light other than small creepy lanterns that lit the dirt road. Unable to see anything else, Luigi swallowed hard with a sense of dread and wiped the sweat from his brow, "Go weegie…," he moaned with fright. He then began his shaky trek down the chilling dirt road.

Luigi followed the road with some help from the eerie gourd lanterns as he swore not to deviate from the pathway. He was certain that ghosts were watching him from the corners of his eyes. As Luigi entered the forest ahead of him it was nearly impossible to see but as soon as he adjusted to the low lighting, faces in trees emerged and stared down at the plumber when he was not looking back. Then suddenly, a voice chimed in Luigi's head, "Luigi, it is I Merlon, can you hear me?" asked the wizard hopefully.

"Hello?" Luigi responded with some confusion.

"Ah, yes, there you are, I'm speaking with you telepathically," Merlon explained. "I see you're entering the Living Thicket. Thanks to the druid's curse here, the trees here can rearrange themselves to confuse your direction. It seems you're aware that the entirety of Mage Land's foliage seems dead with rot and fuzzies have infested the trees as well. Be not alarmed however, the trees cannot harm you only confuse you. Good luck, Luigi, we are counting on you!" Merlon said strongly.

As Luigi took a deep breath he took his first baby steps into the dark woods. He lit the pathways with his Poltergust's flashlight. Luigi hummed a tune to keep his calm and as he did he heard footsteps quickly approach him. Emerging from the darkness was yet another Wizard Cultist and he rushed Luigi with a horrifying growl. Luigi shouted with a shiver as the wizard spooked him. Luigi then leaped into the air and landed perfectly on the Wizard's head, sending him to the ground, defeating him. His body turned to a puff of black smoke and revealed a darker than night, cloaked spirit that resembled the wizard, but with piercing red eyes. The spirit lunged with a roar. Switching on the Poltergust, he stunned and sucked up the undead wizard. The ghost hardly stood a chance before it vanished into the device.

Feeling reassured, Luigi continued through the Living Thicket fighting other Cultists, Peepas, Bone Piranha Plants in Warp Pipes, Gold Ghosts and Bone Goombas. He also hit more blocks collecting more treasures and avoiding Poison Mushrooms when they emerged from blocks. After a short while, Luigi found himself calmed by the smashing of blocks only to find a male druid child pop out of one when he hit it. The young druid hit the ground with a thud and was quite dizzy. Luigi noticed he was not one of the cultists he had been clobbering and approached him, "Oh, I'm so sorry are you okay, bambino?" Luigi asked as the child as he regained his senses.

The druid shook his head and seemed quite happy, "Oh thank goodness, an actual person found me instead of…, whatever has been chasing me…"

"Is someone after you?" Luigi asked with concern, putting his own fears aside.

The boy stammered a bit, "Oh, sorry I forgot to introduce myself," he started. "I'm Merlide and I'm just a beginner druid so I haven't taken any actual classes yet, but I was playing 'Hide and Seek' with my brother Merleek and five other druids. A while ago they took a break, but I wanted to keep playing. My brother told me to play by myself and to use a doll. I was told by some elders not to do this ritual, but I thought it was false. I did it anyway, but something strange happened. I swear the doll came to life and began chasing me. I got so scared that I hid myself in that block you hit. Now I can't find my brother Merleek or anyone else! What if the doll found them! Please mister, you don't seem scary at all, will you help me?"

Luigi gave the kid a thumb's up gesture, "No problem-o bambino!" he replied while trying to hide the shaking of his knees.

The kid was still uneasy, "Um, if you don't mind, I'd like to come along with you, y'know, just in case…," he said shakily.

"Sure thing, I'll enjoy the company!" Luigi replied, enjoying the thought of company.

Luigi heard Greaper's voice once more, "So the little tyke wanted to play Hide and Seek by himself, huh? That was a mistake. Evil spirits jump at the chance to do that with the ignorant. It would be wise to find them all quickly before they get caught."

The young wizard followed Luigi closely as they began to explore the creepy woods. Luigi soon found a circular pathway that looped around a massive tree with a very ugly shaped face staring down on him. Luigi, although unnerved, called out to the children. Then suddenly, a cotton bush rustled and a very relieved child emerged to greet them. "Oh thank the stars!" he said as he greeted his friend. "I got frightened by something that came after me so I tried to hide again! Thank you for coming to find me! There should be five of us left out here, we all scattered when that evil spirit came!"

Luigi now had two of the seven children following him and the company gave him some relief. No longer was he alone. Curious, Luigi turned to Merlide, "Hey, why were you all the way out here playing Hide and Seek?" Luigi asked.

"Practicing our divination magic!" the kid replied. "We can use it to ask plants to help us tell fortunes!"

Merlide interjected, "Yeah, a common skill amongst us druids as well as other wizards, is being able to sense the spiritual energy of others. So we were practicing in the darkness of this forest."

"Yeah, but then…, 'she' came and ruined all the plants…," the other child said sadly.

Luigi grew pale as he contemplated over the child speaking of the Rag Hag, but decided to continue looking for the remaining children as opposed to dwelling on it. As they continued, Luigi called out a few more times to find the children and eventually heard a faint sound from above him. One of the kids was in a tree, surrounded by fuzzies. He seemed frightened, "Um, hello…, can someone get me down now? I feel really dizzy…," he pleaded as he stumbled about.

Luigi had just the thig. He crouched down and put all his strength into his legs, "Ya hoo!" he shouted with a High Jump. Luigi landed safely in the branches avoiding the hazardous fuzzies and reached the kid.

The kid was astounded, "Wow, that was some jump, what kind of spell was that!? Err, never mind that how do we get down now?"

"Leave it to Luigi!" Luigi said as he gave the kid a piggyback ride. Luigi then hopped effortlessly from tree branch to tree branch until he safely reached the ground.

The kids were speechless and muttered praise that became garbled due to them all talking at once. Luigi managed to calm them and they continued. Trekking down winding paths, Luigi called out again and received another reply, this time from a female druid. She was stuck in a small alcove under a series of tree roots. "Hello…?" she replied fearfully. "I can't see down here, if I had some light to show me the entrance, I could leave…"

Luigi shined his flashlight and the bright light caught the girl's eye and she was able to escape from her small alcove.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you so much mister nice man!" she said without pausing for breath as she hugged Luigi's leg. She joined the other three and they huddled together.

Luigi adjusted his cap and they continued. In a dark corner of the forest, strange piles of rotted leaves that were obviously unnatural lay before them. Luigi called out but all the piles shivered as a response. Taking his Poltergust he gently began to blow away the piles. Beneath the first few were just coins along with a Wizard Coin that Merlicity mentioned. Luigi took the purple coin and stored it safely away. A few other piles revealed Bone Piranha Plants hoping to attack someone who came along, but Luigi easily defeated them. Finally, the last pile revealed another shivering female child. She opened her eyes hesitantly, but when she gazed upon Luigi's smiling face, she knew she had been rescued. "Oh, I was sooo scared! I don't know who you are mister, but you're a lot less scary than everything else in this forest!" she said as she huddled with her friends.

Luigi gained a more positive demeanor now as five of the seven children have been located. Continuing onward proved difficult as Luigi had a harder time finding the last two. He hit many dead ends and retraced familiar areas, finding treasures and another Hint Block containing another EVP after being lead astray by mischievous moving trees. Finally, as Luigi called out again, he heard a small female cry. This time it was beneath him. As Luigi felt the ground beneath him he located a wooden plank on the ground that was well hidden beneath the leaves. Luigi performed a Ground Pound beside it and the little girl was ejected from her hole and into Luigi's arms. She was spooked at first, "No, don't eat me!" she cried fearfully. Luigi managed to calm her down and she realized she was safe. "Sorry, I was so scared…, can we go home now?"

Merlide spoke up as he tugged on Luigi's overalls, "Um, that's everyone except my brother Merleek! We have to find him!"

Luigi and the children continued searching and after what felt like hours, they thought they overturned every rock and branch they could find. Then Luigi decided to take the Dark-Light feature and poke around with it.

As Luigi searched and searched he came to a break in the forest. He was at the other edge of the forest and a fairly large strange double door stood before them. The door was built into the plateau and surrounded by gnarled roots of the trees above. The large door was green in color and had holes in it that created a face that was of a Calm expression. Luigi was completely dumbfounded as the door would not budge for anyone or anything, he tried kicking it, punching it, using his Thunderhand on it as well has his hammer. No matter what he tried the door would not as much as creak. He did however find a Hidden Block with the Dark Light that contained a small treasure cache.

Merlide tugged on Luigi's overalls again, "Um, you can't open this door yet, mister. It's a Vibe Door. This one requires the person opening it to be Calm inside there hearts for it to open. There are others like the Rage Door, Joy Door, and Gloom Door. You have to truly be feeling the emotion that matches the door for it to open. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone here is calm right now. Plus, we're still missing Merleek!"

Luigi decided to turn back and head back into the forest. Luigi and the kids were growing worried that they could not find Merleek until the crowd came to a different place where large mushroom trees replaced the cursed pines. They were blocked off by another plateau however, and could not progress further. Then, Luigi placed his hand at his ear as he heard a faint noise in front of him but was unable to see anything. Switching on the Dark Light, he shined it directly in front of him. Suddenly, a Warp Pipe manifested from the darkness as well as the final child. Once the two became whole again, Luigi used the Poltergust to suck up the spirit balls that made them invisible.

Merlide rushed up to the kid in a wave of relief, "Merleek, oh thank the stars we've found you!"

Merleek was sobbing with joy, "Everyone, I-I thought I w-was a goner!"

Merlide turned to Luigi with tears welling up in his eyes, "Thank you for helping us mister, but we should head back to the village as soon as we can!"

"You got it!" Luigi cheered as he stuck a victory pose.

However, suddenly, the kids all rushed behind Luigi in a panic. Luigi did an about face and gazed upon what gave the kids a fright. A lone featureless doll made from burlap and had two button eyes sat motionless on the ground while holding a small rusted knife. Then the doll suddenly, sprung into the air, "I… found… you… that means I win…," it spoke eerily.

Luigi's confidence melted away as his knees began to shake. The doll lunged at Luigi and a set of sharp teeth appeared on its face. Luigi responded with Mario's Hammer. A good swing of the hammer batted the doll away and it dropped its knife. Luigi then regained some of his confidence and shined the Dark Light on the doll. The entity writhed and moaned under the Dark Light's ultraviolet spectrum. Finally, a familiar entity manifested. A white round bodied spirit with a wide toothy grin, big red tongue and beady black eyes became visible. It seemed distressed over the fact that it was now visible. It glared back at Luigi with an expression of anger. "Calamitous clam sauce, a Boo!" Luigi responded as he pointed the nozzle at the Boo. This Boo was much faster than previous Boo's he had encountered. The Boo flew so fast and wildly it was hard to pin down. The Boo became irate as it attempted to dive bomb the plumber. Luigi reacted quickly as he channeled his Thunderhand and whack the Boo with it. The Boo ran right into the unexpected attack and the shock of lightning stunned it causing it a great deal of discomfort. Luigi then began to finish the job with his Poltergust. Luckily, the spirit had no time to recover as it was sucked up. The Boo got stuck a little bit as it made contact with the nozzle. Luigi placed the nozzle to the ground and began jumping on it like a plunger to force the Boo inside. As the Boo vanished inside with an audible funny noise, Luigi and the kids rejoiced. Merlide ran to the doll and threw a match on it, burning it to ashes. He sighed with relief; "Just to make sure nothing else tries to use this doll…!" he said calming down.

All the children sighed with relief and Merleek approached Luigi and tugged on his overalls, "Thanks a whole bunch mister, we really appreciate what you did for us! But, um, we aren't the only people wandering around this place, our parents and elders are in the Mushroom Woods, Scarecrow Fields, and Pumpkin Gorge, so if you could, would you look out for them too?"

Merlide approached Luigi once more, "Oh, in case you were wondering about that Vibe Door from earlier, you'll need to go to the Mushroom Woods first and find a Vibe Shroom. That's what the elders say anyway…, they also said a few more things, but I can't remember them. That Warp Pipe behind you that I was near will take you over to the Mushroom Woods. Really tall Mushroom Trees that glow pretty colors used to grow there, but now they don't glow anymore, thanks to… her… Now the Mushrooms Woods is dark and full of rotted, wilted Mushrooms that are quite toxic. So do be careful… Anyway, please stop by the village and play with us again real soon okay?" he finished with a cute smile only a child could make.

With that, the kids said their goodbyes to Luigi and they departed back to the village via a warp spell that they all shared power for. Luigi was no longer worried as the children holding hands vanished in a bright flash of light. Luigi gave himself a confident nod as he turned to the Warp Pipe behind him. Before Luigi could proceed however, Merlessa's voice entered Luigi's mind, "Luigi, thank you for what you did with the kids, I'm eternally grateful to you. According to my uncle Merlon, the kids returned safely with their Warp spell. If you need to rest, just blow the Mage Land Warp Whistle and feel free to get some supplies and rest!" she finished. Luigi nodded with a smile and instead of continuing, Luigi pulled the Warp Whistle from his pocket and decided to take a breath of fresh air before moving onward.

*Monstro Town*

Luigi returned to Monstro Town on a magical whirlwind. He first paid a visit to Merlon and Merlessa. Luigi casually trotted up to Merlon and greeted him, "Ah, Luigi, glad to see you came back in one piece! I want to thank you as well for rescuing those kids. They are far too young to be wrapped up in this mess. Since the village has been set free from that Music Box curse they can safely return home. I would have been able to help you, but thanks to Merloom's curse of shadows over Mage Land, I can't see anything, even with my crystal ball. I can only see things through your eyes. I wanted to choke a bit when I laid my eyes on what has become of the Living Thicket. Merlessa can tell you more. When I watched the kids from your eyes, I heard them mention 'her'. I take it they are speaking of the Rag Hag that was mentioned before, but thanks to Merloom I can't use my magic to discern her true identity. Anyway, we need to gather more information on who this female druid is and how we can fix what she has done!," he finished with a point of advice.

Luigi hastily departed from Merlon and Merlessa and entered Gadd's new lab. He was greeted cheerfully by the professor, "Ah, Luigi I was able to get a message from those ghostly Hint Block's you smacked, it's quite creepy if you want to hear it. I have no idea what it means though."

Luigi grew uncomfortable about having to hear a message from spirits, but decided to hear it anyway. "Okay…," he said with a tone of unease.

Gadd played back the recording and the following could be heard, "Well you see, we've been friends for years…," came a young male voice. "So I was wondering if I could show you something cool..."

A female voice followed, "Um..., I don't know..., I guess...," was all that was recorded so far.

Luigi was now curious as to what was being said. "I wonder what that means?"

"Like I said…, really creepy," Gadd said with a chill. "Any who, like I said, I want you to hit those corrupt Hint Blocks whenever you find them Luigi we might learn something valuable from them. Despite how creepy they are anyway. Well then, off with you young fella! Time's a wastin'!"

Luigi decided to take a rest in the bed for a nap and Gadd fell asleep in his chair. Just like before, the Three Musty Fears appeared over Luigi's head. Greaper came closer, "How do you like Mage Land so far? Did you know the Living Thicket used to be a very pretty forest? But now its in runs because of this... Rag Hag."

The Boo followed as he played with his face, "I wonder what kind of person she used to be. If I were to judge, I would say she was a well respected person a long time ago."

Lastly, Dry Bones spoke up, "All the wizards you'll find here were once rumored to have hated Merloom. I wonder why they serve him now? Ah well, I'm sure it'll come to light soon."

With that the three spirits vanished and spoke in unison, "Don't forget what we told you!"

*End of Chapter*


	5. 1-3:The Vibe Shroom of the Mushroom Wood

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

1-3: The Vibe Shroom of the Mushroom Woods

After resting up, Luigi used his Warp Whistle and made it back to the Living Thicket. Taking the Warp Pipe he found with the Dark Light, Luigi emerged in a thick dense forest made entirely of massive mushrooms. Luigi walked around to take in his surroundings. He was astounded at all the scales that were suspended in the air that shifted with a person's weight along with moving yellow blocks and falling donut blocks.

Greaper appeared in a flash, "Hmm, the mysterious Mushroom Woods, huh? This place has seen some hard times. If you find a druid, they may provide some insight," he said as he vanished.

Luigi hummed his tune as he began his journey through the Mushroom Woods. He quickly noticed that a great amount of footwork was needed and his slippery shoes made this hard. The ground was full of very deep pitfalls and uneven terrain. He came to an elderly druid that was aimlessly wandering around. Luigi decided to speak with him. "Hey there young fella, thanks for making our village safe again. In return I'll give you some tips about this place. If you're here then you've found the Vibe Doors no doubt? Yes, that would make things hard if your trying to get to the Haunted Greenhouse in the deepest part of the thicket. Here in the Mushroom Woods exist Vibe Shrooms. There are four; the Rage Shroom, Calm Shroom, Joy Shroom, and the Gloom Shroom. If you've been to Vibe Island before then you may be familiar with how these emotions work. However, here in Mage Land, these shrooms are a danger. Eating or even touching one can having you in a laughing fit, uncontrollable rage, a fit of sadness or a drowsy shamble. If your in a dangerous situation being under these effects can give an opening for your enemy. These effects can also make it very hazardous to safely traverse dangerous areas. The effect will lift as soon as you come into contact with another shroom or leave the area; much like allergies. The only beneficial effect these shroom's effects have is they open the corresponding Vibe Door to what emotion your currently under. Beware though, ghosts here are also under these vibe effects. That makes them unpredictable, so do be careful," he explained.

Luigi thanked the helpful druid and decided to continue on. He quickly noticed the four emotions being expressed by haunting disembodied voices deep in the darkness of the woods. Unnerved, Luigi decided to scale the woods to get to higher ground. He jumped up to some scales and quickly made his way across the falling donut blocks until he made it atop a large dried mushroom. The mushroom was unstable and it cracked under Luigi's steps. Unlike many mushroom trees encountered in the past, Luigi found that these ones did not have the bouncy trait that the others had. As he kept hopping from mushroom tree to mushroom tree he hit blocks and collected their goods. However, one block Luigi punched produced an item he had never encountered before.

The strange object was a shiny round mirror with a patina frame and two black eyes. Curious, Luigi chased the mirror down as it bounced wildly around. As he grabbed it he felt a powerful surge of magic run through him. In a shining transformation, Luigi inspected himself to find his body was now reflective like a mirror, "Oh yeah, go Weegie!" he cheered.

Merlessa's voice echoed in Luigi's mind, "Nice one, you got a hold of a Magic Mirror! Those fellas can give a person a magical reflective body that repels any kind of attack. It can even destroy foes simply by having you run into them! It's a really nifty item!"

"Yahoo!" Luigi cried out as he began bulldozing his way through the woods plowing down any resistance that tried to bring him harm. Any projectile and attack bounced off and returned to the user, destroying them. He quickly got lost in his joyous leaps and jumps until finally, the Magic Mirror's power had run its course and wore off. Only, he was in mid-jump when this occurred and headed straight for a Red Ghost that was readying its fist. With a quick lunge, the nasty ghost sucker punched Luigi and it sent him hurling downward towards a spike filled pitfall below. Luigi could only look on in horror as he plummeted. "No!" he screamed as something strange occurred. His decent was halted by a large shadowy hand. That hand acted like a spring board and launched Luigi back into the air where he landed safely in a small alcove. Luigi looked back and the hand gave him the 'V' sign and vanished. He blinked a few times in disbelief, but felt good about what happened.

Luigi trotted through the alcove and found another Hint Block and collected its EVP. "Great work Luigi!" Gadd informed him over the Dual Scream.

As he made his way out of the alcove a small pool of water awaited him. Deciding to go for a swim, Luigi dived right in and swam around the water logged ghosts to find himself inside a small cave with no exit. It was filled with blocks however, and Luigi hit all of them and even found a Hidden Block with a massive cache of treasure within. He eagerly cleaned up the treasures and left the cave the same way he came in.

Eventually, after some more ghost busting, Luigi found himself at a Vibe Door. Dry Bones appeared. "Well, it looks like you'll have to use those Vibe Shrooms to get further into the woods, huh?" he said as he vanished.

Reluctantly, he retraced his steps until he found a mushroom that matched the emotion on the door. He ate the Joy Shroom and he began to giggle uncontrollably. Although these laughs were as random as the hiccups they would come out when Luigi attempted to make some sort of attack. He would stop in his tracks and let out a deep laugh. He quickly realized these shrooms were as dangerous as he was warned and quickly and cautiously made his way back to the Joy Door. Upon returning to the door, Luigi placed his hand on it and he laughed hard. The door let out a bellowing laugh as well as it opened for him. "Oh yeah!" Luigi cheered as he laughed.

This new area of the woods was very dark and had a lot of small ponds littered around. In addition, the giant mushrooms had dangling platforms that were bouncy and very unbalanced. Luigi continued on while trying to keep himself under control from the persistent laughter. As he jumped and leaped and avoided the local ghosts, he eventually came to a log cabin in the woods. This log cabin had nothing but Vibe Doors for entrances. Luigi found another Joy Door and entered.

Inside he found this massive cabin was built like a maze. Vibe Doors existed within every room. The room he was currently in was like a small laundry room. Only two doors existed; one a Joy Door, the other a Gloom Door. He hit a lone block but found it only contained a coin. Luigi left this room to return outside.

Some time passed as Luigi attempted to inspect the cabin but found himself unable to get very far as the many Vibe Doors blocked his path. Without Vibe Shrooms to change his emotional state, he could not progress any further. Boo appeared before him, "Heh, more Doors than Shrooms, huh? I wonder if there's something special hidden in that cabin..."

And so, Luigi decided to trek passed the cabin for the time being and venture onward. A rickety log bridge connected to the cabin's back deck stretched over a fairly large pond. Luigi did his best to avoid the skeletal fish that jumped at him while he crossed. At the end of the bridge a small cave awaited. Luigi entered and found the glowing flora to be quite magnificent. Another druid was walking around and seemed to be searching for something. Luigi decided to talk to her, "Hello!" he said with a friendly wave.

"Oh, hello sir," she said with a tone of sorrow. "You seem to be under the effects of the Vibe Shrooms, like me. I ate a Gloom Shroom and now I can stop..., 'sob', crying. I tried to use my misfortune to enter the cabin outside, but it has so many doors, 'sob'! The person who owns that, 'sob', cabin is said to have a Clarity Shroom which can, 'sob', clear up the effects of the Vibe Shrooms, but they barricaded themselves inside, 'sob'. I came to this cave, because, 'sob', I heard there's a special Vibe Shroom in here that can give you a new Vibe every time you, 'sob', bite into it. It even grows back while you have it, 'sob', so it never goes to waste! The Clarity Shroom is the same way, but the person inside isn't responding, 'sob', so I can't have a bite of it! To make matter's worse, 'sob', I'm too afraid to go deeper into this cave to look for the Mega Vibe Shroom!"

"Luigi will find it!" he giggled. With that, Luigi ventured into the cavern. He first came to a fork and decided to take a left. This turned out to be a wise decision, as he encountered another Joy Door. He opened it and found a small room that contained some blocks, he hit them and a Gloom Shroom appeared from one. He ate it and began to sob rivers of tears that were as random as the last shrooms effects. Ahead of him was a Gloom Door that he entered. This cavernous room was very large and contained many Brick Blocks. As Luigi took a look around he quickly realized he was not alone. He however, continued onward until he came to the end of the room. A Rage Door blocked his path. He quickly went around hitting Brick Blocks until he found a Rage Shroom. Luigi ate the shroom and occasionally threw flurries of punches in an angered fury, "I have FURY!" Luigi shouted. He opened the Rage Door and found a small room with many ghosts inside. The ghosts attempted to approach him only to quickly realize he was enraged. He comically beat all of the ghosts with his Raging Thunderhand and after he did so, he then found this room to be empty. Curious, Luigi used his Dark Light and found a treasure chest. After removing the pesky spirit balls he opened the chest to reveal a huge mushroom that had four colored layers on its cap. "Yeah, the Mega Vibe Shroom!" he said as he left the room.

As Luigi stomped angrily through the Brick Block room a massive ghost made itself known. It was a humongous Broozer. It attempted to use its big red boxing gloves to bully Luigi. Luigi however, was just as angry as the Broozer thanks to the Rage Shroom. He used his new Raging Thunderhand to quickly overpower the bullying spirit. Afterwards, Luigi used the Mega Vibe Shroom to leave the cave. He noticed the druid from before was right. The Mega Vibe Shroom regenerated after being bitten.

Greaper emerged from Luigi's shadow at the cave entrance, "It seems the druid that was here went back to the cabin. Meh, either way you got what you came here for, now you can use that Shroom to scour hidden alcoves all throughout Mage Land. However, I believe it imperative to retrieve the Clarity Shroom as well," he said as he vanished.

"I got it!" Luigi replied as he made his way back to the cabin. The druid woman from before was pacing the deck outside but this time she was very calm and drowsy. She barely gave Luigi anything more than sleepy gibberish when spoken to, so Luigi decided to enter the cabin. Navigating the cabin was now a breeze thanks to Luigi's new treasure. He was able to beat the ghosts within, find loot and finally make his way to the attic. The attic was empty, lonesome and dark. A treasure chest lie at the back near a small circular window. Unfortunately, before Luigi could come near the chest, a Boo appeared and made it vanish. It then laughed at Luigi and ate a Joy Shroom. It then began to chase Luigi around the attic while laughing madly. "Mama mia!" Luigi shouted in distress.

Luigi bit into his Shroom until it gave him the vibe of Rage again. He pounded the laughing Boo with flurries of lightning charged punches until it was dizzy. Frustrated, the Boo ate a Gloom Shroom and ghostly tears dripped from its eyes and coated the floor. This also turned out to work against it as the water left behind made Luigi's Raging Thunderhand even more powerful. The Boo quickly changed over to a Rage Shroom and it began throwing a monster of a fit. It tried to pulverized Luigi with spinning dives that lit its body aflame with blue ghostly fire. Luigi found that he had to time his attacks just right and hit the Boo back as it barreled towards him. With three good whacks, Luigi found himself victorious. He sucked the Boo into his Poltergust and revealed the treasure box it hid. Inside was a large plain white mushroom with a look of purity about it. Luigi took a bit and his condition cleared up. He was once again normal. A druid came up to the attic to meet him. He seemed relieved, "I-is that awful ghost gone for good?" he asked with growing optimism.

"Mm-hmm!" Luigi nodded. "All taken care of!"

"Oh, thank the stars!" he said with relief. "It seems you found that Clarity Shroom. You can keep it, I just use magic to cure any emotional abnormalities, but that young woman outside could probably use a bite. I would have given her some but I was a tad preoccupied as you could tell."

With that, Luigi was escorted out and the elder bid him a farewell. Luigi then decided to share some of the Clarity Shroom with the druid outside. When she came too she was immensely grateful, "Oh thank you mister! I feel so much better now, here take this, it isn't much but it's the least I can do!" she said as she handed over three Wizard Coins. "I'm getting out of here, you'd best do the same!" she said as she left.

The three musty fears appeared. Greaper spoke first, "Well now, that was rather emotionally stressing wasn't it? Either way, we got what we came here for, so let's go back to that door in the thicket shall we?"

Boo interjected, "Uh, are we just going to ignore the strange hand that saved Mr. Green here or what?"

Dry Bones rattled, "No, but what more can we learn by hanging around here?"

"Alright, alright, good point," Boo caved. "But, there may be a secret passage somewhere around here, so if you want some more time to look around then go ahead. Otherwise blow that whistle and let's go."

The nagging thought of a hidden passage plagued Luigi's mind and suddenly, he thought of the cave and how there was a passage he did not yet take. He quickly made his way back to the cave and took a right at the fork. However, there was nothing at the end of this tunnel. So Luigi took his Dark Light and shined around and sure enough a Calm Door appeared. He did away with the spirit orbs and entered with the use of the Mega Vibe Shroom. The small room he entered contained a Warp Pipe that led to an unknown place. He entered the pipe, "Here we go!"

*?*

Luigi appeared inside a massive empty room with a P Switch on the floor. Luigi smiled as he knew where he was at, "This is a Switch Palace!" he said as he approached the P Switch.

Before he could get close enough to step on it though, Greaper appeared, "Well, lookie what you found! A Switch Palace. It seems Merloom has sealed away some magical force that may be used against him, so let's do ourselves a favor and unseal it!"

Luigi nodded and stepped on the switch a wave of Gold Mouse Ghosts swarmed the floor. He quickly sucked up as many as he could to gain the copious amounts of treasure they leave behind. After the treasure hunt had ended Luigi entered the Warp Pipe and was brought to a hallway. He continued down the hallway until he entered a large square room with a massive '!' Switch at the center. With a joyful expression, Luigi leaped high and ground pounded the switch. The depressed switch released a rainbow colored wave of magic across all of Mage Land.

The Three Musty Fears appeared. "I wonder what that switch kept sealed away?" Greaper asked rhetorically.

"Whatever it was, our buddy Merloom is now probably aware that something's not right," Boo claimed.

"Heh, yeah, whatever he's got planned is about to start crumbling!" Dry Bones added.

"Alright, that's enough, we should head back now," Greaper said calming the mood. "We are nearly to the Haunted Greenhouse where this curse is spreading from. So if you please?" Greaper said politely. Luigi nodded and needing a little rest, he used the Warp Whistle and headed back to Monstro Town.

*End of Chapter*


	6. 1-4: Shadows in Scarecrow Fields

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

1-4: Shadows in Scarecrow Fields

*Monstro Town*

After getting some rest Luigi checked around town but found little in the way of updates as Gadd was still trying to decipher the EVP he collected and Merlicity still had little to offer. "Sorry Luigi, but this one's bigger and may take some more time to decipher, so come back later!" Gadd informed.

Merlon and Merlessa gave him some info on his next destination. "Your almost to the Haunted Greenhouse Luigi!" Merlessa said excitedly.

"Yes, we just need to get Luigi passed the Scarecrow Fields and the Pumpkin Gorge first!" Merlon claimed.

"Ahem, yes, well about that," Merlessa began. "The next stop on our little journey is called the Scarecrow Fields. Its where we wizards grow our crops. Now, we don't farm like the rest of the world does, we have magic. So your going to find tools that move by themselves doing the works that the wizard's spells tell them too, or most likely, find living Scarecrows with powerful magic of their own."

"The scarecrows are the worst Luigi," Merlon stated seriously. "They were created to perform the heavy labor out in the fields so many have different designs. So do be careful."

Luigi shivered at the thought of living scarecrows, "I-I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he said as he excused himself.

Luigi the paid a visit to Jynx and he taught him the uses of his Thunderhand in tandem with the Rage Vibe and how it could easily become reckless if improperly used. "That's it Luigi, use it just like that!" said Jynx as Luigi performed the move three times on a training dummy that looked like a Koopa. "The Raging Thunderhand is powerful, but sometimes can be very reckless and hard to control. So use it wisely. See how other Vibes affect your different abilities while out in the field. Just because most disable your offense doesn't mean they won't augment your other skills! Try different things out and see what works!" he finished as he dismissed the plumber.

"Oh yeah, Luigi got it!" said Luigi with a confident thumbs up. "See you later!"

With that settled, Luigi left Jynx's Dojo to continue his journey. Outside he blew on the Warp Whistle and back to the Living Thicket he went.

*Living Thicket*

Now more confident, Luigi retraced his steps through the dark forest until he made it back to the Calm Door from before. He took a bite of the Mega Vibe Shroom until he was calm and touched the door. The door let out a ghostly sigh of comfort and let him pass. Inside Luigi cured himself and found a Warp Pipe. "Go weegie!" he said as he plunged himself into the pipe.

*Scarecrow Fields*

Luigi arrived from the Warp Pipe and began looking around. The Scarecrow Fields were disheveled and placed in a perpetual dusk-like atmosphere. The dried maize stalks made a sort of maze for him to walk through. "Wonderful, a maize maze...," Luigi shivered.

Greaper emerged from Luigi's shadow, "Welcome to the Scarecrow Fields green one! Let us heed the wizard's warning about ticking off scarecrows, they are rickety and unpredictable. And I hate them... Anyway, the Druids of Mage Land used scarecrows to do all the dirty work here in the fields and when the Rag Hag came along they went a little haywire."

Boo also emerged from Luigi's shadow, "Yeah, now they roam these fields and attack anything that isn't a scarecrow in defense of the crops!"

Boo was then followed by Dry Bones, "Also, these scarecrows do possess some spells that can really ruin our day. They can and probably will, use a S'crow Funk spell to turn you into one of them so do be careful. They also like to attack in groups, so you gotta stay on the move if you get surrounded."

"Basically, what we are saying is..., let's make this quick!" Greaper said bluntly.

"No problem! I've always been a fast runner!" Luigi reassured.

"Good, you'll need it...," Greaper said as he and the others retreated into Luigi's shadow.

With that settled, Luigi entered the cornfield with caution. However, no more than a few steps in, Luigi heard a bloodcurdling scream. "Wahh!" cried Luigi as he rushed toward the outcry.

Luigi burst into a small opening to find a young druid girl stared down by a rickety scarecrow that was made with mostly sticks for limbs, white gloves, brown ripped boots and a rusty open bear trap for a head. Taking a look at it, Luigi noticed he could not stomp on it due to its 'head'. It raised its hands and began to rattle. It was casting a magic spell. Luigi did the first thing that came to mind. He rushed to the little girl and pushed her out of the scarecrow's range. Luigi took the spell for her and he blacked out.

*?*

Luigi awoke and his body felt strange. He found himself unable to move very much. He was inside a barn alongside a bunch of crates and hay. Greaper appeared from Luigi's shadow, "Great, this is why I hate scarecrows! Miserable S'crow Funk right off the bat!" he complained.

Boo followed, "I know you thought what you did was a good thing, but if you would have defeated the druid in the greenhouse you would have saved her anyway."

"Nevertheless, we're not out of this yet," started Dry Bones. "We just need to find a Trueform Badge and Mr. Green here can keep his shape!"

"Hmm, there may be one in this barn," Greaper said looking around. "With all this junk, we may be able to find one!"

"Can you move Mr. Green?" Boo asked. Luigi's body was now just a round lump of straw with a green tattered shirt over the torso and a straw head with button eyes and a matching green steeple hat. His arms were outstretched and his lower body was nothing but a stick. Luigi saw something behind the Fears. A shadow that moved along the walls of the barn but nothing to cast it. Luigi hopped, "Oh good, you can still move a little!" Boo smiled. Luigi hopped seemingly in a ecstatic state.

"What, do you see something?" Greaper asked as he turned around. The shadow was still on the wall on the far end of the barn. Greaper took a closer look by means of squinting. "Hmm, a shadow spirit, wait, that spirit looks familiar..."

"Wait, I think your right...," Boo said also squinting.

The shadow jumps in a familiar fashion and started moving along the wall until it came to a ladder. It then climbed the ladder in a 2D fashion. Footsteps could then be heard above on the wooden mow only for it to disappear when it came to an open window.

"Bah, pesky shadow people!" Greaper cursed.

"I hope that wasn't one of Merloom's summons," Dry Bones said worriedly.

"I don't think so, that shadow person was very familiar!" Boo claimed.

After a few seconds a small push came to the barn's double doors. A whimper was heard behind them. Then, footsteps could be heard on the barn's hayloft once more. The shadow spirit came back down the ladder and walked over to the door. It managed to move the large 2X4 that barricaded the doors. Then the doors opened slightly and the small druid girl Luigi saved snuck in quietly. She quietly and nervously came to Luigi as the Fears retreated into his shadow. "H-hello? I'm sorry you got turned into... a scarecrow... I was looking for this!" she said as she held a Trueform Badge in her hand. "I was able to find one after you saved me. I think you should have it though. Your much more heroic than me... Here I can undo the scarecrow's spell," she said as she chanted. Luigi then returned to his normal state.

"Ohh, thank you bambina!" Luigi said gratefully. She handed over the badge and Luigi pinned it to his overalls.

The shadow on the wall jumped near the door and it grabbed the druid's attention. "Hey mister, I think that spirit knows you," she said as she gave him a light tug on his overalls.

Indeed as Luigi gazed upon the shadow spirit the silhouette it took the form of was non other than his brother Mario. Luigi then began to grow afraid as to what might have become of his brother but as he did he began to hear the sound of a very loud machine outside the barn. The roar of its engine drew closer and closer until the door was destroyed in a massive crash. A magically created crop harvester stood where the door had been and it chewed on the wood with its spinning blades. The windows were tinted so it was hard to tell who was inside.

"Quick! Up the ladder, there's a window we can sneak out of!" said the druid in a growing panic.

Luigi fearfully did so after picking up the little girl and carrying her on his shoulders. The harvester began a slow but very dangerous pursuit as Luigi retreated to the back of the barn. In the back of the hayloft he found a Hint Block and quickly took the second to capture its message before leaping out the window with the druid. "Here, we go!" Luigi shouted as they landed in hay piles outside the barn.

Horrid noises of destruction could be heard inside the barn as it quickly began hitting the wall from the other side. "What do we do now?!" asked the druid in a panic.

"Hang on tight!" Luigi said as he carried her like a princess and ran like the wind. Luigi darted off into the maze of strange vegetables.

"Hey mister, don't try to run through these stalks!" warned the druid. "They have thorns all over their stems and you can easily get tangled in them!"

"Luigi got it!" Luigi said as he took a turn to the left and then a right. As Luigi navigated further he realized that it was easy to get lost. "Oh no, it's a labyrinth!

Luckily, the harvester seemed to be far enough away so that he could back track and check alternate paths. He came to a dead end with nothing and began to feel butterfly's in his stomach. Then, as Luigi turned to go back, the shadow spirit from before could be seen trying to get his attention by jumping up and down. It was cast on the crops via a bright moonlight. It was making a motion that told Luigi to follow it.

Luigi followed the shadow as it ran across the crops. Luigi found this hard as it was not always apparent where the shadow went as it was only visible in the light. Left's, right's, bobbing and swaying, Luigi followed the shadow as fast as he could go through the maze while dodging and evading scarecrows. The scarecrows that he dodged were chewed up by the harvester.

The shadow had to correct Luigi every time he hit a dead end. The only good thing about the dead ends were the Hidden Block and treasure laying around he would pick up. Other times they were a burden as they were filled with ghosts and scarecrows.

"Look Mister, an exit!" shouted the druid with her index finger outstretched.

"Oh yeah!" Luigi said with a look of joy.

Luigi dashed through but it turned out to be an illusion. "Oh no, we're cornered!" the druid screamed.

Before Luigi could turn and go back a spiritual barrier blocked his path. It took the form of a glowing purple translucent portcullis gate. Then with a sudden yet familiar laugh, a Boo appeared. "Tee hee, now you're doomed Luigi!" taunted the Boo with a wide grin.

Luigi turned his gaze to the sound of the harvester as it grew closer. "Oh no, we don't have much time left!" Luigi said with failing confidence.

Luigi dared not let go of the little girl as the Boo closed in. "Its okay mister, let me down so you can do your job..." she said with a strange sense of calm.

Luigi was taken with the little girl's bravery and he placed her on her feet. He then armed himself with his Poltergust and took aim at the Boo. "Let's go!" he said strongly. The Boo smirked with a wide evil grin. It vanished with high speed as Luigi activated the Poltergust. He was surprised at the spirit's speed.

The Boo of the Musty Fears spoke angrily to Luigi with just his voice, "Wretched rodents! We don't have time for this! Any ideas guys?!"

"No, he's your kind, you think of something!" Greaper scolded Boo.

"I know what your aiming at Greaper, but that sounds wrong to me for some reason...," Dry Bones said as he scratched his skull.

"Those three don't help much when they bicker," thought Luigi.

Then suddenly, the enemy Boo was stopped in its tracks and began struggling. It was the shadow spirit from before. It grabbed hold of the Boo from the ground and tugged on its ghostly tail. This surprised everyone as they all went silent with awe. Luigi took the hint and aimed the nozzle of the Poltergust at the Boo and activated it. With several moments of a powerful bout of tug 'o' war, Luigi finally sucked the Boo into the vacuum and he slung the nozzle onto his back with a satisfying cheer, "Go weegie! Thanks Mr. Shadow!" he said as the mystical barrier lifted.

The harvester cut the party's victory short as it came into view. Luigi quickly scooped up the druid and followed the shadow spirit out. As they did so, a ravine came into view. "Okay, that's the real exit! I just hope you can jump!" said the druid.

"That Luigi can do!" Luigi said as he High Jumped across the ravine. The harvester burst through only to fall into the ravine and get stuck. Luigi set the druid down to her feet and cautiously approached the ravine. It was dark but he managed to catch the movement of someone quickly leaving the machine and escape into the darkness below.

"Who was that?" asked the druid as she appeared right next to Luigi.

This spooked Luigi and he screamed, "What are you doing? Little ones should not be so close to danger like this! This is for heroes like myself," Luigi assured with renewed confidence.

"Oh, so that means your headed to the Haunted Greenhouse, right?" asked the druid with brightening eyes. "To stop..., her?"

"You mean..., the Rag Hag, don't you?" Luigi asked as his knees began to shake.

The druid nodded, "Mm-hmm, passed this ravine is the Pumpkin Gorge. There's a big nasty ghost there, so you may need to get passed it to open the Haunted Greenhouse. Good luck, I can get back to the village from here. So don't worry about me. Thank you so much though, for your help I mean. I can pass this story down to my children one day! I met and was saved by the Green Thunder!"

Luigi blushed with a giggle as he rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing bambina!" he said nervously.

"Bye, bye!" she said as she ran off.

"Well, Mr. Green we made it to the ravine...!" Greaper rhymed.

"Ugh, no rhyming Greaper, its just irritating," Boo moaned.

"I don't know I kinda like it!" said Dry Bones.

"Tch, you're no fun! Either way, Luigi, do you need a little rest before we enter the Gorge?" Greaper asked.

"I think we should for a visit I need to ask a question!" Luigi said uneasily. He took the Warp Whistle out and placed it to his mouth and headed back to Monstro Town.

*Monstro Town*

Luigi entered the home that Merlon and Merlessa stayed in and let them in on what he had encountered.

"A Shadow Spirit that resembles Mario?" Merlon said with astonishment.

"Luigi, capture that spirit so we can speak with it. You must!" Merlessa said with determination.

"Hmm, we'll need to look further into this, but I have a hunch on what's going on," Merlon said with uncertainty.

"What do you mean uncle?" Merlessa asked puzzled.

"Well, I can't be totally sure, but if that shadow is a part of Mario, some kind of conflict could have happened with Merloom. If it is not then it could be some sort of trap," Merlon theorized.

"Be careful when you enter the Pumpkin Gorge Luigi, that's basically the Rag Hag's front yard. It's got a strong spiritual vibe!" Merlessa claimed.

"Yes, the druid's should still be able to help you get into the greenhouse. So continue to seek them out!" Merlon instructed.

"Okey dokey!" Luigi said as he excused himself.

Luigi stood outside the door with the Warp Whistle in hand, "No time to waste! Let's go!" he said as he blew the whistle.

*End of Chapter*


	7. 1-5: Evils of the Pumpkin Gorge!

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

1-5: Evils of the Pumpkin Gorge!

*Pumpkin Gorge*

Luigi gazed upon the murky river that entered the Pumpkin Gorge and it reminded him of the waters of the Feasting Swamp. "All this water is bad!" Luigi fretted. Walking further into the gorge revealed the two high stony cliffs that framed the river. On top of those cliffs, the massive pine trees of the Living Thicket grew, still cursed. Finally, smashed and rotted pumpkins lined the small fields that were next to the rivers sides.

The Three Musty Fears appeared from Luigi's shadow. "Well, that's not very nice," Greaper started. "Someone smashed all these pumpkins!"

"Such a waste!" Boo stated.

"Maybe we can gather up the seeds and roast them after we deal with the Rag Hag so it won't be a total waste!" Dry Bones suggested.

"Hmm, those are good roasted!" Luigi claimed.

"A light hearted treat after a job well done perhaps, but first comes the Rag Hag," Greaper urged.

Luigi began trekking down the side of the river and entered the clearing in the Gorge. On both sides of the river lie greenhouses with broken glass and grimy walls due to the floral overgrowth. Everything here seemed quite old. Then, Luigi heard some rustling. "What's that? Who's there?" he said as he turned the corner of a broken greenhouse and shined his flashlight out into the open. Luigi's light hit a lone but seemingly pristine pumpkin sitting on a dirt pathway. As soon as a light hit it though it sprung to life with a scary face and vines that acted as limbs. It screeched at Luigi who also screeched in response. The creature rushed Luigi who luckily retaliated with a powerful Thunderhand and shattered the pumpkin creature.

Greaper appeared, "Great! Pumpkin Piranhas! These suckers, and I mean that quite literally, can suck up spirits and use their energy to power themselves up!" he informed. Just as Greaper finished saying this, a Pumpkin Piranha appeared with many more tagging along behind them. Boo and Dry Bones were devoured by the nasty creatures with a loud yelp and Greaper was also caught. "Luigi, stomp these things and we'll be free!" he said as the creature swallowed him whole. With that the creatures ran away, leaping over fences and scurrying away into the broken greenhouses.

"Oh no...!" Luigi moaned as he was robbed of his company.

And so, Luigi did the only thing he could do. He entered the nearest greenhouse and found it to be somewhat small. He traveled down one of the aisles and found many strange wilted herbs that probably were once used by the druids as medication or spices. Luigi then heard a rustling in the distance. He shined his flashlight down the aisle, "Hello?" he asked sheepishly.

A voice responded, "Hello? Is someone there? Can you give me a hand?"

Luigi approached the voice by pushing aside leaves and vines. He found a male adult druid tangled within the vines. "Luigi got ya!" said Luigi as he untied the druid.

"Many thanks good sir!" thanked the druid. "My wife and son are wandering around the Gorge too. We came looking for an herb that could help my little girl get better, she has an illness, but those blasted pumpkin monsters got to me!"

"A surprise attack?" Luigi asked.

"No, it turns out our druidic magic isn't working because the Rag Hag is so close, she must be so powerful to have a curse like that...," explained the druid. "It looks like we'll have to smash all these creatures to get their leader out. I'm pretty sure the leader is hiding in the well in the center of all the greenhouses. The river forks right our side and there's a well that stands on the small strip of land in between the fork.!"

"I got it, but I have a problem...," Luigi said with concern.

"Oh?" said the druid.

"These monsters avoid me, I can't smash them if they don't come out of hiding!" Luigi claimed.

"Ah, that is a problem, but not for me!" the druid claimed as he turned to a counter top that stood behind him. There were many jars filled with dried herbs that he began searching through. He opened a few and began mixing some of these reagents together. After only a few moments he turned to Luigi and handed him a flask. "Here, take a sip of this household potion! It'll attract those critters even if they don't want to come to you!" he explained.

"Thank you!" Luigi said as he took a sip from the potion. "Hmm, tastes like cold pumpkin spice coffee, delicioso!" he thought to himself.

"Now, all you need to do is step outside into the pumpkin patch and they'll come running. Just be prepared when they come!" the druid informed.

Luigi stored the flask away, "Thank you very much!" he said gratefully.

Luigi then departed the empty greenhouse and approached the field outside. He walked until he reached the center. He shivered a bit as his breathe could be seen. Then suddenly, a Pumpkin Piranha sprouted up on the far side of the field and it acted as though it smelled something irresistible. Luigi put up his dukes and his Thunderhand danced across his fingers. "Come get me!" he taunted.

The creature suddenly lunged at Luigi but he jumped into the air with a spin jump to stomp on one he heard come from behind him. Luigi then rebounded off of the one he stomped on to land on the first one he encountered. Next followed three more from all sides. Luigi simply ducked and the three monsters collided and splattered Luigi with gooey pumpkin bits. He was disgusted and complained about it as more quickly arrived. Being covered in slimy pumpkin goo, he found it hard to stand without sliding. He nearly lost his footing until he grabbed another Pumpkin Piranha with his Thunderhand and it exploded releasing a hostile gold ghost. Luigi quickly took out his poltergust nozzle to suck up the ghost but he slid around so much it made his job difficult. He managed to fight off more Pumpkin Piranhas who in turn released more gold ghosts and other spirits. With some luck and nimble foot work Luigi dispatched all but one Pumpkin Piranha which he decided to give it a simple stomp. When it was crushed, Dry Bones emerged, "Wheew, thanks a lot buddy it was really cramped in there!" he said with relief.

"I was beginning to think I lost you for a moment!" Luigi said also in relief.

Now reunited with Dry Bones, Luigi moved on to another greenhouse. Inside he heard a female voice, "Drat, that won't work either!" echoed the voice.

"Hello?" Luigi called out.

"Huh? Is someone there?" said the voice as the owner came into view from behind the plants. "Oh, hello, I was expecting another druid, but maybe you'll be able to help me. Won't you?" she asked.

"Sure, I would love to," Luigi agreed with a smile.

"Ah, please follow me then!" she asked excitedly. Luigi followed the druid to the back of the greenhouse to see what she wanted. She stopped in front of a table top that had many chemicals, "I'm trying to make a weed killer for these miserable Pumpkin Piranhas. I'm almost there but I need one more reagent. Unfortunately, the last ingredient I need is in this greenhouse's basement. You seem equipped to handle danger, would you please get it for me, its in a blue bottle?" she asked politely.

No problem miss, I'll have it in a jiffy!" Luigi assured.

Luigi descended the staircase behind the druid and found the basement to be nothing but a large dirt floor. The chemicals were on a shelf at the back of the room. As Luigi walked over the dirt floor, another Pumpkin Piranha emerged as it was drawn to him, thanks to the potion. As it approached, two more followed. Luigi quickly stomped his first offender into goo and gave the Thunderhand to the second and Mario's hammer to the third. As soon as they were dispatched, another wave appeared. He managed to dispatch wave after wave of them and the ghosts they released until Boo reappeared from the remains of one, "Sheesh, I thought I was never gonna get outta there! I was trapped like hair in a lint filter!" he said as he reunited with Luigi.

Luigi sighed with relief, "Ah, that just leaves Greaper now."

"Yeah, and if I know him, he's gotta be fuming by now," Boo replied as he retreated into Luigi's shadow. Luigi then took the time to investigate the room now that there was nothing standing in his way. He found a Hidden Block with a cache of treasure and a few more minor treasure's lying around as well as the blue bottle the druid wanted. Finding nothing else of interest, he left to return to the druid.

The druid was quite joyful at his return, "Oh, thank the stars! I heard some rustle and bustle down below, so I only could imagine what was going on down there!" she said nervously. Luigi handed her the bottle, "Ah, you got it, that's the one!" she said as she took the bottle from him. She quickly rushed to the table and began mixing up the contents in a precise order. She then mixed said contents into a large bottle of water. She carried it to Luigi, "Here sir, this poison will take care of any plant based ghouls you come across! In addition, since you seem to be headed for the Rag Hag, this poison will help out against her hoards of evil plants. These Pumpkin Piranha were made by crossbreeding a standard pumpkin with the Piranha Plant and using druidic magic as a fertilizer. When your done outside, toss some of this into the well and their leader will come running out real quick!"

"Thank you!" Luigi said as he took the bottle and excused himself.

Luigi marched on until he reached the third greenhouse he had not yet entered. It was the only one left intact. He entered cautiously and heard the sounds of a male child's frustration. "Hello, who is there?" Luigi asked.

"Huh?" said the child as he poked his head around a corner sheepishly. He cautiously came out of hiding as soon as he realized Luigi was not a monster. "Oh, hey, can you help me out mister?" he said nervously. "There's this bundle of herbs I can't reach!"

"Sure, I can reach it for you bambino err, um, boy," Luigi stammered. Luigi followed the young druid to where he wanted to find the herb.

"See mister its all the way up there on that shelf, its even labeled!" he said as he pointed to a strange bundle of dried plants. "Its called Witch's Bane and its great for panacea's. My sister needs some medicine and that would do the trick, but I can't reach it!"

Luigi adjusted his cap and approached the shelf only to hear the breaking of glass. The room began flooding with aroma entranced Pumpkin Piranha's. "Gahh, oh no!" shrieked the druid boy as he cowered in a corner.

Luigi was faced with the monsters; one to his right and another to his left. He took Mario's Hammer and performed a spin, destroying them both. However, their place was taken by more offenders. Luigi stomped and crushed Pumpkin Piranha's and sucked up their ghostly prisoners until the entire floor was covered in their slippery innards. Finally, Greaper emerged from the sticky mess. "Bah, what an annoyance! Thanks Luigi, that's all three of us...," he said as he was interrupted by a minor earthquake. "Did you feel that? The ghost at the bottom of the well has awakened because you destroyed all these monsters. Let's hurry and tick him off!"

Luigi jumped up to the shelf top with a high jump and grabbed the Witch's Bane. He came back down and the young druid was still shivering from fright until Luigi consoled him. "Hey, they're gone now, this is what you needed, right?"

The child perked up as soon as he realized he was safe, "Oh, you got rid of them? I thought I was gonna be eaten for sure!" he said as he took the Witch's Bane from Luigi. "Oh, your gonna go and take out the ghost in the well? Well, I know some things about that ghost. Word has it that it's the ghost of a druid. He has a pumpkin for a head, because someone took his head and stuffed his body down that well. I'm sure there's more to that story but I don't know it all. Just be careful if you choose to tangle with him, he may want your head!" he said as Luigi grasped his throat nervously and he swallowed hard.

Outside, Luigi approached the well and found a Hint Block near it. He hit the block and recorded the EVP. He then gulped as he placed his hands on the edge of the old stone well. He could feel the malice that came from the bottom. He took a dash of the poison he was given and poured it down the well. In just a few moments another earthquake came but this one was stronger. The ground was disheveled as large roots emerged from the ground. The well crumbled and the waters erupted from the well. All that was left was an entanglement of roots where the well was and at the center was a horrifying sight. The undead spirit of a druid with a pumpkin for a head emerged. The spirit moaned in anger, "Who tossed that vile substance on me?!" he said angrily. He quickly noticed Luigi, "A human? I, Pumpkin Head, will make you pay for that! And after I'm done with you, I will make the Shaman of Shadows pay!" he announced.

Greaper emerged, "Hmm, that's odd, I thought he was a part of the mess with Merloom. Heh, it looks like even this guy hates him. I wonder why."

"Never mind that, cause here he comes!" warned Boo.

"Do your thing Mr. Green!" followed Dry Bones as the three vanished.

Pumpkin Head waved his arms and two massive roots rose into the air. One of those roots slammed down hard only for Luigi to quickly dodge it. As he regained his footing he charged up his Thunderhand and made a mad dash for the druid. Luigi ran atop the roots while they were squirming and grabbed the spirit's head. Pumpkin Head cried out in agony and was stunned from the attack. "How does a human know the Thunderhand?!" Pumpkin Head shrieked. Luigi took the opportunity to begin drawing him into the Poltergust. Pumpkin Head's spiritual energy flowed into the Poltergust until the connection was severed by a root that batted Luigi away.

"Mama mia," Luigi moaned. Pumpkin Head was now angered even more as he began casting a hex. He chanted as a line of sharp thorn ridden roots jutted up from the ground. Luigi rolled to the side to avoid the attack. Upon inspection, the attack dripped with poison. Luigi cringed as he witnessed the drops of poison sizzle on the ground. He got to his feet and charged his Thunderhand again. Pumpkin Head responded by floating high into the air. Luigi wore a confident smirk as he used a high jump to reach the ghastly spirt. His Thunderhand hit right on target and the earthbound spirit fell back to the ground. Luigi reestablished the link between his Poltergust and the ghost. However, just like last time he was disconnected before he could finish it off. The spirit was now at its peak level of anger as it burned with rage. It cast another spell, only this time it was an entanglement spell and it caught Luigi's legs in vines. "Noo!" he cried out.

"Now, you're mine!" said Pumpkin Head as he chanted a powerful spell. "Moon Flash!" he announced as Luigi's body was enveloped by a bright and harmful light that resembled moon light. The spell sounded like thunder that drowned out Luigi's cries of agony. Pumpkin Head laughed evilly as Luigi emerged nearly unconscious. The spirit then began to taunt Luigi, "Still alive are you well then..., urk!" he said as he was cut off by a mysterious force. As Luigi regained his composure, he witnessed Pumpkin Head struggling with the shadow spirit that helped him in Scarecrow Fields. Luigi's feet were freed now that the spell wore off and he dashed for the distracted spook with one more Thunderhand. Pumpkin Head received the attack full force and Luigi made one final push with his Poltergust. With a satisfying yell, Luigi managed to suck Pumpkin Head into the Poltergust and immediately, the roots he summoned turned to ash leaving nothing but a hole in the ground.

The family of druids came up to him with the dad speaking first, "Wow, you did it, thanks a lot sir, you really helped us out! If you can do the same to the Rag Hag and even Merloom, we'll be free to restore this Gorge as well as all of Mage Land!"

"You sir have our gratitude!" said the mother. "Isn't that right dear?" she finished as she turned to her child.

"Yes mom, you're a tough guy, I want to be strong like you some day!" praised the child.

Luigi blushed as he was not used to being so admired. "Oh, it was nothing!"

"So, what's your name?" asked the dad.

"I'm'ma Luigi, number one plumber in all of the Mushroom Kingdom, well, right behind my brother anyway...," he said retracting his statement a little.

"Well, I'm Merleaf," started the dad. "This is my wife Merlivine and my son Merlanch! We are pleased to have met you, but this is the part where we have to get going. Our daughter, Merlerry has a cold and now that we got what we came for we have to see to her right away!"

"Okey dokey, bye bye, be careful on your way back to the village!" Luigi said joyfully.

As the family walked away, Luigi heard Merlanch talk to his dad, "Dad what's a plumber?" he asked.

"Hmm, you know son, I have no idea!" he said as he started laughing.

The Three Musty Fears emerged, "Well, that takes care of that mess!" Greaper said with relief.

"Yeah, it looks like that shadow spirit helped you out again!" Boo pointed out.

"Hmm, speaking of which where is he anyway, oh no, don't tell me he got sucked into your Poltergust with Pumpkin Head?!" Dry Bones asked with the nasty assumption.

Luigi checked the Poltergust and sure enough it was full, but he couldn't tell if the shadow spirit was inside. Let's go back to Gadd, he can sort this out!" Luigi said as he pulled out the Warp Whistle.

*End of Chapter*


	8. 1-6: The Greenhouse of Horrors!

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

1-6: The Greenhouse of Horrors!

*Monstro Town*

"This is quite a find Luigi!" praised E. Gadd. "You've caught quite an old ghost here. Let's hurry and store him!"

"Okie dokie, but what about the shadow spirit?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Not to worry, we can filter him out separately!" E. Gadd claimed with a chuckle. "Now, place the nozzle of the poltergust into the Ghost Container. I'll Portrify Pumpkin Head later. For now, we deal with the shadow spirit!"

Luigi did as he was told and after all was said and done, Pumpkin Head was stored while the shadow spirit was extracted. The shadow spirit was ejected from E. Gadd's machinery and projected onto the wall. It hopped around in a friendly manner in an attempt to communicate. As they were thinking about the situation, Luigi and the professor heard a knock at the door. "Yes? Merlon is that you?" E. Gadd asked.

The voice on the other side of the door was muffled, but it was indeed Merlon's. "Yes, may we enter?" he asked loudly.

"Please, come in!" E. Gadd said as he opened the door.

Merlon and Merlessa walked in with a sense of urgency. "I knew I felt something strange!" Merlon claimed as he looked upon the shadow spirit. "That spirit is Mario's Soul!"

"Great job retrieving it Luigi!" Merlessa congratulated.

"What do we do with it?" E. Gadd asked dumbfounded.

Luigi looked pale, "Yeah, m-my brother's not... dead... is he?" he asked trying to fight the thought.

Merlon chuckled, "No, no, not at all Luigi. He's under Merloom's curse."

"We can't understand him now, but I got just the thing for that!" Merlessa claimed with a wink. "I'm gonna need some help, so would the Three Musty Fears hiding in Luigi's shadow please come out?"

Enchanted, the Three Musty Fears appeared and floated above Luigi's head. "How may we assist you Merlessa?" Greaper asked politely.

"Ask the spirit if he's willing to 'haunt' his brother," Merlessa said with a quote, end quote expression with her fingers.

"Oh, I think I know where you're going with this...," Greaper said with a smirk. Greaper flew off and joined with the shadow of Mario. Mario's shadow was still for a few moments until Greaper resurfaced. "Yeah, he agrees with this he says he's practically dying to help Luigi, but isn't sure how."

"Aww, he must really hate the position he's in right now," Dry Bones said with a chuckle.

"That's brotherly love for ya!" Boo claimed.

"Good, that's all I need to know," Merlessa started as she turned to Luigi. "Luigi, stand in the light and project your own shadow so that it stands next to your brother's."

E. Gadd moved a lamp behind Luigi and his shadow stood next to Mario's. Merlessa began a chant with her hands clasped together. A strange wind moved throughout the room and Mario's shadow overlapped Luigi's. E. Gadd was astounded, "Incredible, Luigi now casts his brother's shadow instead of his own!"

Merlon chuckled, "And that's not all, take a look!" he said as he pointed. Mario emerged as a three dimensional purplish being with glowing yellow eyes.

"Mama mia, what is this?!" said Mario's shadow as it looked itself over.

Luigi jumped in fright, "Waah!" he screamed.

"Luigi calm down, it's me Mario!" Mario said trying to calm his brother.

Luigi calmed down as soon as he realized Mario was really before him, "What happened, why do you look like that?" Luigi asked with obvious concern.

"Yes Mario, why don't you fill us in?" E. Gadd asked with interest.

"We thought you were doomed when Merloom took your soul," Merlon claimed.

Mario placed his hand underneath his chin, "Hmm, well it happened like this! Merloom tried to use that same tactic to steal Peach's soul but the crystal ball was too full and it cracked. I was able to escape but Peach is still locked up in some large building with a lot pipes. As I got further away, that wizard's curse finally got to me and I turned into a shadow spirit! All this time I've been looking for you Luigi so we could rescue Peach and get my body back!"

"I was hoping for more info, but Peach was there with you? Why?" Merlon asked curiously. "Merloom can't do anything with her."

"Oh yeah, and King Boo was there too, he seemed to be wanting something from Merloom!" Mario blurted out.

"KING BOO?!" everyone shouted.

"Great Scott, King Boo, what dealings does he have with that wizard?!" E. Gadd said with a fright.

"I don't know all the details, but it looks like they were going to make a trade," Mario began. "He wanted Merloom's Crystal Ball for something he called, 'The Urn of Underland Valley Shadows'!"

Merlon, Merlessa and the Three Musty Fears spit in absolute fear over what they just heard. "The Urn of Underland Valley Shadows?! If Merloom gets a hold of that artifact his power will increase one hundred fold!" Merlon claimed in fear.

"I knew he was always looking for something powerful, he must really want to undo the prophecy of the Green Thunder!" Merlessa."He was always paranoid about prophecies!"

"Well, the King of all Boo's would be the one to ask about that," said Boo in terror.

"Why does King Boo want Merloom's Crystal Ball?" Greaper asked bluntly.

Everyone went silent as they had no answer as to why the King of all Boo's would want a wizard's crystal ball. Merlon spoke up, "Nevertheless, we're now running out of time!" he claimed with a sense of urgency. "It's time to take down the Rag Hag, Luigi! I suggest taking time to visit Merlicity and buying some things before taking her on. Just as a precaution, you know."

"Okie dokie!" Luigi agreed strongly.

"One thing before you go!" Merlessa said. "Mario, you can help Luigi by interacting with the environment in a number new of ways. I'll brief you as you go along, but for now just get to the Greenhouse and I'll do the rest!"

"Thank you!" Mario said as he and the Three Musty Fears retreated into Luigi's shadow.

Luigi then paid a visit to Merlicity and seen that her shelves were stocked with magical goods, not all things Luigi could use, but they were neat nonetheless. "Ah, what great timing! I've just finished taking inventory! So what can I get you handsome?" she asked with a coy tone.

Luigi searched the shelf and found a special green shell, "Perfect, a Noknok Shell!"

"Ah, yes, the Noknok Shell is an enchanted Koopa Shell that returns to its user after being kicked around. It's perfect for long range combat!" Merlicity explained. Luigi took the shell and he then decided to head to Jinx's Dojo for some pointer's on the Noknok Shell.

"The Noknok Shell, is pretty straightforward!" said Jinx straightforwardly. "Aim it at your target and give it a good kick! The enchantment on it will always have it return to you, so kick it as hard as you like! Hmm, now that you have enough weapons and skills, I can teach you how to combine them with the Vibes. Would you like to learn about that?"

"Yes, please!" Luigi urged.

"Fantastic, as you know already, the Thunderhand can be combined with the Rage Vibe, but not the others. This lesson teaches you that your brother's hammer can be combined with the Gloom Vibe. You'll be able to throw a fit of flailing hammer swings under that effect! Let's give it a try!" Jinx said enthusiastically.

"Okie dokie!" Luigi said as he took out the Vibe Shroom and bit into it until he felt sad and gloomy. Tears of sorrow leaked down his cheeks as he took out the hammer and felt like doing nothing more than swinging it in a fit. "Baaah boo hoo!" he screamed as nearly flattened Jinx.

Jinx managed to narrowly avoid the flurry of strikes, "Hey, watch it with that thing will ya! Let's just move on to the next lesson!" he said flustered.

Luigi sniffled as he paused and took a bite of the Clarity Shroom and his mood became normal. "Huh, I didn't know I had that in me!" he said.

"Fine, fine, ahem, now for this next lesson we'll combine the Joy Vibe with the Noknok Shell! So go ahead and change your mood!" Jinx instructed.

Luigi did as he was told until he was Joyful. He then took out the Noknok Shell and gave it a kick as Jinx suggested. It was enveloped by a whirlwind as it bounced wildly around the room. "Wahoo!" Luigi cheered.

Jinx also avoided this move narrowly as Luigi caught the shell and returned his mood to normal. "Oh my stars, was that ever close!" Jinx said as he wiped sweat from his brow.

"Ahem, well then, finally your High Jump skill can combine with the Calm Vibe to slow your descent in the air as well as make opponents you land on sleepy and pass out! Give it a try!" Jinx explained.

Luigi followed Jinx's instructions and he became calm and drowsy. He then let out a big yawn as he crouched and High Jumped to the ceiling. He gently floated back down all while scuttling his feet. Jinx freaked out as he noticed Luigi was going to land on him. "Hey now, wait...!" he said as he was cut off by Luigi stomping on him.

Jinx stumbled around feeling drowsy, "I'm'ma gonna... lay down for a while... that's all for today...," he finished as he collapsed onto his futon and passed out with a heavy snore. Luigi returned himself to normal and thanked Jinx and with his mind set, he went outside, took out the Warp Whistle and returned to Mage Land.

*The Haunted Greenhouse*

Luigi appeared at the end of the trail leading from the Pumpkin Gorge and as he gazed just slightly further up the trail, he could see a massive gloomy Greenhouse standing on a cliff overlooking the Forest of the Druids. It was a long and rectangular building with a domed center and a small patio that extended from the dome section. "Here we go!" both Luigi and Mario said in unison.

Luigi trotted up to the entrance and seen it was blocked by a Calm Door. So he took out the Vibe Shroom and took bites until he was calm. He sighed with a breath of calmness and the door echoed him and creaked open. He then entered the Greenhouse with his flashlight lighting his way. Inside, Luigi was astounded by the spaciousness of it. There were rows of plants that were grown for whatever purpose the Rag Hag needed. Luigi proceeded through until he reached the big door at the back of the room. He grabbed the handle, but found it locked. He then heard a rustling behind him as every plant in the room shivered.

The room then suddenly filled up with the same Pumpkin Piranhas he fought in the Gorge. Mario's shadow emerged, "Let's go, give'em a good whack with that Noknok Shell Luigi!" he suggested.

Luigi changed his vibe to Joy and took the Noknok Shell. A cyclone wrapped around the shell and it hit multiple targets as it rebounded off walls and other targets. This made clearing rooms filled with offenders much easier and timely. Luigi then sucked up any ghosts left behind until one dropped a key. He took the key and the lights turned on and all the plants crumbled into dried dust. "Oh yeah!" said both Mario Bros.

Before Luigi could move, a rumbling shook the ground beneath his feet and the dirt floor opened into a sink hole. Luigi shouted in fear as he descended and landed with a loud thud. He landed in a muddy pit with water leaking in from an ancient pipeline. As he regained his senses, he noticed a worn hole in the wall in front of him. "Mama mia, that was some fall!" Luigi said as he adjusted his neck.

Mario materialized and tapped on Luigi's shoulder, "Hey bro, get a load of this! This pipe to our left... must connect to the well where that Pumpkin Head ghost was. This place is pumping in water from that well. Let's see where it leads!" he suggested.

"Okie dokie!" Luigi agreed. "But first...," he went on as he poked his eyes down the hole in the wall. The long dirt hole revealed a darkened room that was hard to see into. However, what Luigi did manage to see, spooked him. He made out moving plant-like shadows that seemed to belong to a large plant. "Calamitous clam sauce...," he said in quiet astonishment.

Greaper appeared to the left of Luigi's face, "I'll bet that's the Rag Hag's current experiment. I say we kill that plant. It may draw her out of hiding!"

"Oh yeah!" Luigi agreed with a nod. Luigi then jumped up to the wall and began Wall Kicking back and forth until he made it back to the surface. He then used the key he obtained to open the door.

This room was the main room to the greenhouse. It was circular and built up to look like a flower garden. Only this garden had chipped and worn statues of wizards and the plants were overgrown and unkempt. At the center of the room stood a circular fountain with a large obelisk standing in the center. Strange red water poured like a waterfall in front of the obelisk from its top and into the fountain. "What's with this fountain?" Boo asked rhetorically as he appeared.

"It looks like blood, but its much too thin to be blood," Luigi deduced with a sigh of relief.

"It must be fertilizer she's using!" Mario guessed. "Let's turn off her irrigation system! I have a hunch we'll find the off switch in the basement!"

With that, Luigi noticed a door on the left side of the room and another door opposite of it. The door on the left side of the building was locked but the door to the right was a Rage Door. Luigi changed his mood to Rage and approached the door and growled fiercely and the door deeply echoed him and opened.

Inside was a dimly lit room that was lit with a strange unnatural black light. Luigi was chilled at the many strange large flowers that were planted in the dirt carrying crates. The crates held one of these massive flowers and were arranged in a way that made the room a maze. Strangely, the rectangular room was filled with this one type of flower. "I wonder what type of flower this is?" Luigi thought out loud.

"They look dangerous, I would refrain from touching them...," Dry Bones suggested with a whisper.

"Good idea...," Luigi agreed as he started moving through the maze. Menacing Gold Ghosts and Hanging Ghosts appeared occasionally to spook Luigi and make his trip cumbersome. He dealt with the ghosts carefully as he passed each flower. Strangely, each flower twitched and shivered slightly as he passed them. As he progressed he found blocks that contained coins as well as other treasures hidden in the dead ends. Eventually, he came to the end of the strange maze and found himself at a large water pipe that was churning away. It was the main pipe that connected to the sprinklers above the strange flowers.

"All right Luigi, let's do what plumbers do best!" Mario said with a thumbs up.

"You got it bro!" Luigi said as he approached the main valve.

As Luigi placed his hands on the valve, he was immediately spooked by two hanging ghosts that dropped down on both his right and left flanks. After the initial shock of being spooked, Luigi retaliated with his flashlight and sucked up the two spooks. This caused the lights in the room to come on and the strange black light to go out. A key dropped from the ceiling stalking ghosts and Luigi picked it up. Luigi then wiped the sweat from his brow and turned the valve. However, the valve would not stay put. "What the? I wonder what went wrong?" he thought out loud as he inspected the pipe more. He then found a secondary valve that was further down the pipe. So, he tried to turn that one as well. Unfortunately, this one too, returned to its normal state.

Luigi tapped his foot in confusion, that is, until Merlessa contacted him in his mind, "Luigi, this is the type of moment where your brother is going to have to help you! Let me explain! Your brother is a shadow spirit that can interact with objects in the physical plane, but he cannot touch living beings. All you need to do is have a light on in the room and cast your brother onto a nearby plane. Then all Mario needs to do is interact with whatever is outside your reach! Go ahead, give it a try. I can see both those valves through your eyes and I'll just bet they both need to be turned at once!" she explained.

"Crazy wizard architecture!" Luigi said with a shrug as he stood against the valve that was closest to the light. Mario then took over and cast himself onto the wall. He then grabbed the other valve and the two both turned the valves until a satisfying click could be heard. Both valves locked in place and the water stopped running. "All right, we did it bro!" Luigi cheered.

"We're one step closer Weeg!" Mario encouraged.

Luigi about faced and proceeded to the flower maze only to find the plants moving slightly as if waiting for something. These plants were active now that the lights were on and they didn't seem happy that their water source was turned off. They resembled Crazee Dayzees, but their petals were dark red and their eyes were dilated and had a pin prick size red pupil deeply set in those black eyes.

Greaper stopped Luigi in a panic, "Don't get near these. There's a sign here that tells us what these are. It's written in the Mage Land characters, but I can read it," he warned as he read the sign. Greaper read, "Mayzee Dayzee, Warning, getting to close will result in immediate mauling followed by death!"

Boo appeared and shied away from the Mayzze Dayzze's long blank stare and creepy smile. "Uh, let's get outta this room, like now! Do you see any alternate routes to take?"

Luigi looked around the room and gazed at the sprinklers above. "Yep, I have an idea!" Luigi said confidently as he High Jumped to the pipes above. Every Mayzee Dayzee in the room followed him with their creepy gaze. Luigi then began to balance himself as he carefully walked back to the door.

Some time passed as Luigi was almost home free. He nearly slipped a couple of times and when he thought he was going to fall, the Mayzee Dayzees would shiver in anticipation. Luckily, Luigi made it back and left the room.

As he passed by the fountain, Luigi could see it had not changed. He quickly pressed on and unlocked the other door and entered. Inside was a room filled with little black piranha plants. "Mama mia Mario, would you look at all the Munchers!" Luigi said astonished.

"Mama mia, I've seen pipes with lesser clogs!" Mario pointed out.

Dry Bones appeared at Luigi's right, "So, what will you do now Mr. Green? This particular breed can't be harmed by a whole lot of things."

"Hmm," Luigi pondered as he inspected the room carefully. "Let's see, the walls and ceiling are clear, made of glass, but the floor have these little guys planted very neatly along nearly every inch of the surface. The pipes of the irrigation system are close to the walls and stand vertically as well as horizontally. Hey bro, I think its time we try that new technique we have been working on!" Luigi said with a clenched fist.

"Huh, but Luigi, you have a harder time with that move than me!" Mario protested. "Your shoes are so bald on the bottom, how can you be sure you won't slip up?"

"It'll be fine bro, as long as I can build up enough speed I should be okay!" Luigi reassured.

"That's right, Luigi is a better runner than me and has more stamina and durability, but I still worry. It's only going to take one slip with those cruddy shoes of his!" Mario thought hoping his brother would be fine.

Luigi, made a mad dash from the door and headed straight for the open left wall. "Behold, the Mario brother's new technique! The Wall Dash!" he shouted with a jump to the wall. Like a ninja, Luigi ran vertically across the wall while leaving his left hand to skim the wall for extra balance. Just before Luigi began to lose his footing, he spin jumped to the vertical pipe and clung to it like a fireman's pole. "Yes, Luigi got it!"

"Nice one, Weeg!" Mario cheered. "And here I thought we weren't ready for that one yet!"

Luigi gave his brother a thumb's up with a chuckle and then began changing positions on the pipe. He jumped from the pipe and used the thin sprinkler pipe running along the ceiling like a pair of monkey bars. He then swung from that pipe to another vertical pipe. From that vertical pipe, Luigi faced the right wall and jumped to it. Upon reaching it, he rebounded with a Wall Kick and then Scuttle Jumped to safety on the other side of the room. Luigi gave himself a cheer for a job well done and Mario cheered along with him. Their cheering however, was cut short as a large blue ghost appeared. Luigi howled in fright and by reflex flashed his Thunderhand which stunned it. He then promptly sucked it up and the lights came on. The door behind the ghost was a Joy Door. Luigi changed his Vibe and entered the door. It was a stairwell to the basement.

The basement was very dark, so much so, that nothing was visible. Luigi shined his flashlight and he could see nothing but pipelines and massive vines. Gulping with anticipation, he followed the vines to the source. His eyes widened with fear as the light revealed a massive version of a Pumpkin Piranha. "Oh no, a 'Pumpking' Piranha!" Luigi joked with a moan as it opened its fiery eyes.

"Luigi, let's smash that overgrown squash!" Mario said confidently.

"Here I go!" Luigi said as his waist was grabbed by a vine. "Uh-oh!" he gasped as he was tossed across the room and collided with a strange machine. Luigi shook it off and turned around to get a good look at what he collided with. "Mario look, it's the machine that controls the environment in this place!"

"Hmm, let's mess with it!" Mario suggested with a grin.

The massive monster shined Luigi with his fiery colored emissions from its eyes and mouth. This allowed Mario to be projected as a shadow spirit onto the machine behind Luigi. "Keep him busy, Weeg! I'm gonna tinker with this thing!" Mario instructed. The machine began making strange noises as Mario began to interact with it.

The Pumpking Piranha lashed out at Luigi with one of its huge roots. Thankfully, Luigi caught the massive vine and held on tight. "Just make it quick bro! I can't hold on to this forever!" Luigi said hurriedly.

"Got it, I think this thing is a dehumidifier of sorts!" Mario said as the machine began to glow. The damp air began to change instantly. The machine then began to vibrate and shake violently. "Oh no, I overloaded it, take cover Weeg!" Mario warned.

Before Luigi could react, the Pumpking Piranha lifted him up and swallowed him whole all while making a satisfied moan. Unfortunately for him though, the atmosphere control machine began to dehydrate the room at an accelerated rate until finally, it ruptured and exploded releasing a massive heat wave into the room. When it cleared, the lights came on and the room was dryer than a desert and the Pumpking Piranha was a dried husk. It turned into a dried gourd. The dried husk then burst open as Luigi emerged. "Hmm, that was strange, but it seemed to have worked!" he said happily as the lights came on.

"Are you all right, bro?" Mario asked worriedly.

"A little parched, but I'm fine, now where's that irrigation pump?" Luigi asked rhetorically as he looked around. Luigi did a 180 degree turn and found a massive pump-like machine with all sorts of pipelines leading to it and from it. "Bingo, jackpot!" he laughed. He approached the machine and turned the master valve off and then proceeded to break it off. "That should do it Mario!" he said with a thumbs up.

"Right, now let's head back and see what that all changed!" Mario suggested with curiosity.

Back in the main room, the waterfall completely stopped and revealed a massive painting. The painting was of a huge beautiful tree in the center of a meadow that was by extension surrounded by a thick forest. "A painting? I was hoping something else was going to happen!" Luigi said distressed.

"Not so fast bro, this painting looks a lot like the one's that were in Peach's Castle!" Mario analyzed. "I'm betting we can enter this painting and it'll lead us straight to the Rag Hag!"

Luigi snapped his fingers, "All right, Luigi do it!"

Greaper and the rest of the Fears appeared behind them, "Be careful with the Rag Hag Luigi, I sense some strong spiritual energy from within that painting!" Greaper warned.

"Well she is a 'master' Druid after all. What did you expect?" Boo followed.

"Let's mosey, I really wanna see why she's called 'The Rag Hag'!" Dry Bones urged.

"Okie dokie! Let's go!" the Mario Bros. said in unison as Luigi rushed into the painting with a long jump. Sure enough, the painting reacted like someone jumping into a pool. When the waves settled the picture changed from its serene look to one of death.

*The Rag Hag's Lair*

Luigi dropped from the sky, landing hard on the mushy dirt. Luigi looked around but could see nothing but lush thick grass and a massive tree that stood before him. In the distance a wizard was chanting and dancing at the base of the tree. "Weeg, that must be the Rag Hag! Let's go give her a taste of pasta power!" Mario said eagerly.

"Let's go!" Luigi followed as he dashed up to the wizard.

The wizard stopped her chanting and dancing in an instant and turned to face the brothers. Her appearance was strange in comparison to what they've encountered so far. She didn't appear to be zombified at all and was quite stunning. Her cherry blossom colored hair framed her face with two plush tassel-like sideburns and her bangs nearly covered her glowing yellow eyes. She wore the traditional green robes that all other druids wore alongside a white and pink colored kimono styled garment underneath the open robes. Finally, she wore a crystal ball around her neck that was made from amber.

"Oh, hello, who are you and... how did you find me here?" she asked in a gentle manner.

Luigi scratched his head underneath his cap, "Hmm, um, do you happen to know of a druid called 'The Rag Hag'?"

"Rag Hag...?" she asked as she shot Luigi a scowl. "Is that what they are calling me now? What a boorish and rude nickname! I may use ragweed in many spells but I am by no means a 'hag'! My name is Merlana!"

The voice of Dry Bones whispered, "This is the Rag Hag? I thought she was supposed to be butt-ugly!"

Mario stretched himself over Luigi's shoulder to get a closer look at her. He wore a slight mocking expression, "Your pretty..., but you're no Princess Peach!" said Mario with a shrug. The Rag Hag gave him a quizzical stare.

"Mario I'm pretty sure she doesn't know who Peach is...," Luigi said embarrassed.

"Ahem, either way you're the one responsible for making a mess of the forest outside aren't you?" Mario accused.

"Mess? Excuse me, but I am arranging that forest into a much nicer assortment of plants!" Merlana replied harshly.

"Trust me lady, you and I have completely different ideas when it comes to beauty!" Luigi snarked.

"Yeah, and me and my bro here have come by to stop what you and your master, Merloom are doing!" Mario boasted.

Merlana was now agitated, "Eh, my beloved Merloom?! You intend to fight us?! Humph, I try to make the forest beautiful and everyone has a hissy fit! I should have known a couple of 8-bit lunk heads like you could never appreciate what I've done! It looks like I'll have to explain it to you! You see this wonderful tree behind me? It's a wonderful tree called 'The Tree of Life'! It's the main flower in my arrangement. When you choose flowers for an arrangement you must have a main one that others compliment! This tree requires a massive amount of nutrients to grow to full potential so I've been feeding it the fertile nutrients from the Forest of the Druids. The forest may die as a result but it'll make a perfect arrangement. Just think about it! The entire forest dies and then it surrounds the Tree of Life at the very center, creating a magnificent contrast between life and death! Ho, ho, ho, ho-!" she laughed haughtily while placing her hand over her mouth.

Mario paused for a second and gazed upwards at the tree. He then faced Merlana with a rather blank expression. "Your tree's ugly...," Mario said bluntly.

"W-w-w-w-whaaat!" cried out Merlana. "How dare you-! What would you two know about flowers?! What are you guys anyway? You look like garbage disposal slaves!"

"Well, we're not slaves, but removing clogs of garbage is kinda something we are good at!" Mario said with a grin. "And that's why we're here! You see that man behind me? My little bro. He's gonna stomp you into the afterlife!"

"Come again?!" Luigi said astonished. "Bro, what are doing?"

Mario came close to Luigi and whispered to him, "Relax bro, I'm talking you up! She'll be shaking in her shoes in no time!"

Before Mario could instigate anymore, Merlana was already boiling, "So..., you think your such hot stuff? Well then, let's play a little game!" Merlana said as she whipped out eight magical cards. She approached a stump and placed the small deck onto it. "You know, we wizards use a lot of cards in our spells. Well, let's try your luck! I'm going to pick four cards and so will you. After that, the game will begin and I will eliminate you with the power that's imbued into each card!"

Luigi approached the stump while Mario whispered to him, "Ha, see, gambling is another strong suit of yours Luigi, you got this!" he encouraged.

Merlana shuffled the cards quickly and then laid them out on the stump in two rows of four. "I'll go first and pick a card. You pick one after me. We'll take turns until we each have four in our hands. Then you may use the power of each card in any order you choose but only after the other has made their play! I'll pick this one!" she explained as she picked up a card.

Luigi tried to find a weakness in her expression but her cold eyes did not budge. Luigi chose a card and Merlana followed immediately. Luigi carefully chose another card. Merlana wasted no time in choosing her next card. Luigi chose carefully between the three last cards and Merlana wasted no time choosing her final card. The last card automatically went to Luigi out of process of elimination.

Merlana began laughing lowly with her head down as Mario and Luigi looked at the cards they got. "Did you get anything good?" Mario asked as he looked over his brother's shoulder.

Luigi held all four cards in his hand, "Hmm, a Mini Mushroom, a 1-Up Mushroom, a Poison Mushroom and... a plain Mushroom?" he said strangely.

"That's not too bad, what do you think Luigi?" Mario said confidently.

Luigi sighed, "I think I got every card she wanted me to have..."

Merlana floated backwards even while still giggling, "You are so right, Green Man, and now I'm gonna feed you to my flora! My first card is... the Ghost Shroom!" she said holding the magic card up to Luigi. In an instant flash of light, Ghost Shrooms came by the dozen and began speeding after Luigi.

"Wah! Oh wait, Ghost Shrooms!" Luigi said as he pointed the nozzle of the Poltergust downward and began sucking up the Ghost Shrooms one by one. This strategy worked until one of them bounced off of another and bit down hard on Luigi's arm. "Yeow! Why you little-!" he cursed as he wildly sucked up the rest of the Ghost Shrooms. Merlana was slack jawed at what just happened. Luigi took the plain Mushroom card out of his pocket, "Let's use this to clear up those flesh wounds!" he smiled as the card produced a Mushroom. Luigi happily munched it down.

Merlana smiled evilly, "Ha, this exchange is over..! Huh...?" she paused in bewilderment.

"That Mushroom tasted kinda funny, but it still did the trick all right!" Luigi smiled.

"Why, what's going on? You were supposed to become a Mushroom when you ate that!" Merlana said in distress.

"Huh, I thought that Mushroom tasted funny!" Luigi said irately. "But I'm wearing a Trueform Badge, so my shape doesn't change!" he said pointing to the badge that was pinned to his overalls.

"You sneaky little sewer rat!" Merlana cursed as she stamped the ground with her feet.

Luigi took the opportunity to take a bite from the Vibe Shroom until he became enraged. He then lunged at Merlana with the Raging Thunderhand and began to pummel her into the ground. When he took a moment to catch his breath she was buried underneath the soil. As expected she rose from the dirt seething with anger, "Fine let's see you try that again!" she threatened.

Luigi was more than angry enough to comply as he took another lunge at her. She summoned the power of her next card and Luigi was repelled via a lightning strike from Merlana's body. "What the..?!" Luigi shouted as he tumbled backwards.

"Ha, taste the electric shield from my Volt Shroom! Those electric attacks of your's can't even touch me now, no matter how angry you are!" Merlana explained while laughing boastfully.

Luigi cleared his head with the Clarity Shroom. "Okay then, let's see you enjoy your own medicine!" he said as he held up the Poison Mushroom card. It produced a sickly purple mushroom that headed straight for Merlana.

"I was hoping you'd use that one, sorry but it won't work on me!" Merlana said as she held up another one of her cards. "I don't know how you managed to find a Vibe Shroom and the Clarity Shroom, but I've decided that you don't deserve such things, so I'm taking it away from you! Go, Reverse Mushroom!" she bellowed.

The light teal mushroom emerged from its card and collided with the Poison Mushroom and Luigi freaked out. The Poison Mushroom now began chasing Luigi down. Once he gained enough distance however, he turned on it and began to suck it up with his Poltergust. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bad decision as it burst into spores upon being squashed by the nozzle. Luigi was smothered by the spores of poison. "Oh, no, Luigi!" Mario shouted in terror.

Merlana laughed, "No matter how strong you are you can't train your organs and the poison of that mushroom will cause those to liquify! So you'd better do something before that happens!"

Mario attempted to retaliate by swinging his fists in the air angrily, but he couldn't get very far from Luigi. Luigi pulled out the 1-Up Mushroom card fully knowing that Merlana was expecting him too. "Bottoms up!" Luigi said as he swallowed the life giving mushroom. In an instant, he felt the poison clear from his body and his strength restored to a degree.

"I don't get it Weeg, why give you the 1-Up?" Mario asked quizzically.

"My guess is... the undead can't use them and since she made me use it so soon, I'm guessing she thinks her last card is her trump card!" Luigi deduced.

"Well get ready bro cause I think she's up to bat!" Mario warned.

Indeed, Merlana held forth her last and final card and it was the worst one possible for Luigi. It was a Mega Mushroom. Merlana devoured the shroom and she began growing several times her original size. "Oh no..., one stomp from that and I'm doomed!" Luigi said as he took off running.

"Run, run, run little human!" Merlana taunted.

Luigi held up the Mini Mushroom card in disgust, "How is this supposed to help me now? Even if her power runs out she can still stomp me in one blow if I use this!" he thought.

Luigi ran around the meadow as fast as he could while being chased by Merlana until he passed the stump again. Mario caught his brother's attention by tapping Luigi on the shoulder, "Luigi, use the Mini Mushroom! There's a hole in that stump!"

"Well, I don't have any other choice!" Luigi said as he used the card and swallowed the Mini Mushroom. He shrunk down to a fraction of his size and entered the hole in the stump.

Merlana rose her foot over the stump, "Hide if you want it makes no difference!" she said as she stomped on the stump. It was pressed into the ground like a cork into a bottle.

Luigi fell into a small tunnel that led underground and eventually into a small cave with two '?' Blocks and a new block he hasn't seen before in his travels through Mage Land.

The block was a red colored '!" Block. Boo materialized, "Hey, doesn't that block have the same '!' as the switch in that Switch Palace you pressed? Let's hit it and see what goodies we find!" he laughed giddily.

Merlana began shrinking down to her original size, "Well, that was fun, I needed a break. As I said though, they are now fertilizer for my tree."

As Merlana finished her sentence, the ground began to rumble and the stump began rising from the ground. Merlana gasped in terror as the ground erupted with green colored flames. Luigi emerged from the ground with green overalls, white cap and undershirt. He held a green fireball that was the size of a basketball on his right index finger. "Playtime is over Merlana...," Luigi said with a now determined expression glued to his face.

"Good going bro! Fire Luigi is just what the doctor ordered!" Mario encouraged strongly.

Merlana rose to her feet, seething, "A Fire Flower? I thought I got rid of those nasty little weeds! Well it doesn't really matter. Fine, I guess playtime is indeed over. You want to see my master druid magic? Then I'll show it to you!" she said as she began to show her true colors.

"No matter what, this will be over in a flash!" Luigi said cheerfully as he clenched the fireball in his hand, causing it to emit through his fingers.

Merlana released her true power and both her and the environment changed drastically. Merlana herself now showed her undead state and her tree was now a sickly shade of grey with blood red leaves. The grass beneath their feet vanished and the ground cracked it became so dry. Dry Bones's voice was filled with excitement, "Ohh, there we go! She now fits her nickname!"

"Now you'll see the beauty of my arrangement!" Merlana howled malevolently. She chanted a spell, "Sun Flash!" she announced as several thin beams came from the sky.

"No problem, Pumpkin Head had a spell just like this!" Luigi said as he effortlessly dodged the beams and volleyed fireballs through the chaos. Merlana screamed in horror as she was engulfed in green flames.

She quickly put herself out and growled in anger. "How can a human deal this kind of damage?!" she said astounded. "I think you need to slow down! Or better yet, since you love to run so much, why don't you try this spell on for size! Amber Splash!" she chanted. She expelled a massive glob of amber sap from her mouth.

Luigi didn't have time to dodge the unpredictable attack and he was covered in the sweet sticky sap. "Eww, gross!" Luigi cringed. Then, Luigi instantly heard a buzzing noise come from above him, "What's that?!" he said looking up. A swarm of infatuated Buzzers emerged from the tree's canopy to come after Luigi.

Merlana continued to chant as enemies grew from the ground. Plant creatures sprung up all around. An army consisting of artichoke-like creatures named Artichokers, carrot-like creatures with faces like a Halloween jack-o-lantern called Carriboscis, stump-like creatures called Stumpets and the Pumpkin Piranha's from earlier swarmed the field en masse. "Weeg, whack those Stumpets with your fireballs, they explode with a Backfire technique that destroys everything around it when you do that!" Mario claimed.

"Luigi do it!" he replied. Luigi jumped into the air and fired fireballs at the Stumpets. They began exploding like volcanoes and the other creatures also caught fire. Luigi then began dodging the Buzzers and retaliating with fireballs.

Luigi defeated all of Merlana's summons, "What is this?! Why is this happening?" Merlana said in distress. "Stay away from me!" she panicked as she began summoning waves of poisonous thorns like the one's Pumpkin Head used.

Luigi jumped and leaped over these walls of thorns. Luigi then went for the Vibe Shroom in his pocket, but when he pulled it out he noticed it had wilted into a Dried Shroom. The Shroom of Clarity also dried out. "Oh, no! The Poison Mushroom must have destroyed them! So that's what she meant when she said she would take them from me..." Luigi thought sadly. "I guess I have to finish this with fire!"

Merlana grew desperate, "That does it! Only my finest spell will place an end to you! Get ready..., for my Celestial Force spell! It is the most powerful spell we druids use!" she finished as she began chanting with her wrinkled hands in the air. Luigi rushed toward her, "It's useless! You can't dodge this!" she threatened as she completed her chant.

Luigi smiled as he tightened his legs for a High Jump. Just as Merlana unleashed a powerful wave of multicolored energy, Luigi unleashed his High Jump and leaped over the massive wave as Merlana could only look on in awe as her best spell was wasted. As Luigi fell from the sky, he pointed his fingers downward and threw volleys of fireballs down on her. Her body was engulfed in flames as she cursed her bad luck.

When Luigi landed and his flames extinguished, Merlana slumped backward and she fell to her knees with her face to the sky. She was defeated, "I know who you are now..., you're the Green Thunder aren't you...? Who would have thought you would be human and not a wizard at all... Fine Green Thunder, I am defeated, I go willingly...," she said with a new sense of sadness.

Luigi gave her a look of pity as he aimed the Poltergust at her. As he turned it on, Merlana's body deteriorated until spirit and all was sucked into the vacuum. However, unlike any ghost he had vanquished before, a bright light erupted from the nozzle as what seemed like reality itself was being pulled into it. When it faded, Luigi opened his eyes and found himself back in the greenhouse. It was now filled with beautiful lush flora. Luigi smiled and left to go see the outside world. Sure enough, the Forest of the Druids had been restored. Luigi smiled as he looked at the bright fresh pumpkins, the healthy soil, and the full thick pine trees. Merlana's curse had been lifted.

*Back at the Druid Village*

"Thank you, sir, you have done us a most great favor! We are in your debt!" the Druid Elder claimed as he shook Luigi's hand erratically with joy.

The entire village cheered for their new hero and Luigi wasn't sure how to respond. Mario's shadow appeared back to back with Luigi. "Do you see that bro? They're cheering for you this time, not me. To be honest, I am a little jealous!" he chuckled.

The Elder turned to Luigi once more, "Good sir, I know you're in a hurry, so we won't keep you any longer. We can take care of things from here in the village concerning Merloom. With the Rag Hag's curse lifted we can do our jobs and fight death with life. Good luck, Green Thunder...!" he said with tears in his eyes.

"Take care of yourselves!" Luigi said all teary eyed as he took out the Warp Whistle. With that he blew the whistle and headed back to Monstro Town.

*End of Chapter*


	9. 2-1: The Village of Anger!

Super Luigi Bros.

and

The Shaman of Shadows

World 2 - Mount Chimney

2-1: The Village of Anger!

*?*

"Wizard..., Luigi has destroyed your lousy puppet...," King Boo said, his appearance cloaked by darkness.

"What, how...? Merlana has been destroyed...?" Merloom said as he turned from his table of ancient parchments.

"I told you not to underestimate the Mario Brothers!" King Boo growled deeply.

Merloom slumped into a calm state, "A minor setback... These..., Mario Brothers? You call them? Are but a mere nuisance!"

King Boo growled under his breath, "Very well wizard, have it your way..."

Seemingly unknown to them, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach, eavesdropped on their conversation, hoping for some insight. There she stood, her back to the damp stone wall as she listened through the cracked door.

Peach thought deeply, "Just what is King Boo up to? What is he doing with that nasty wizard?"

"At any rate, provide me with the provision I desired so this deal may be completed!" Merloom demanded.

"Alright wizard, however, the Urn of Underland Valley Shadows is... well let's just say that some assembly is required!" King Boo chuckled.

"WHAT?! You mean to tell me that it is in pieces?!" Merloom growled angrily.

"See for yourself, I'll create the portal to send you into the Underland. Just don't tarry for too long. I may not be able to bring you back, you are undead after all!" King Boo laughed as he cast a spell. The spell seemed to tear open a black bubble in the very atmosphere itself.

"Curse you spirit, I will have that Urn!" Merloom claimed as he leaped into the portal.

Peach watched in amazement until she felt a breath of cold air on the nape of her neck. Peach went pale as sweat rolled down her forehead and her eyes slowly moved carrying her head to the source. The horrifying visage of King Boo faced her, "Boo, by the way I knew you were here the whole time!"

Peach screamed and went into the room, "I have to stop that wizard for Mario and Luigi, or at least buy them time!" she said as she leaped into the portal after Merloom.

"You pesky Princess, don't interfere!" King Boo shouted angrily, causing the walls to vibrate.

*Monstro Town*

Luigi slept in bed as E. Gadd quietly typed away on his computer. "That was some ride wasn't it?" Greaper asked his fellow spirits.

"Yeah, that Rag Hag got what molly-whopped!" Boo said joyfully.

"No bones about it, she literally had no idea what hit her!" Dry Bones rattled.

"...Molly-whopped...?" Greaper said befuddled.

Mario held his head high, "I knew it all along, Luigi is good at gambling with stuff like cards, so this isn't a surprise to me!" he said with praise. Luigi awoke and blinked his eyes. He hopped out of bed with a yawn and the Musty Fears returning to his shadow while Mario stayed by his side. "Ready to go bro? Its boring when you don't need to eat or sleep!" Mario claimed.

"Sure thing, bro!" Luigi said as he stretched.

E. Gadd turned while in his chair, "Oh, are you boys headed out? Do let me know if there's anything useful I can use to upgrade the Poltergust while you're out? Also, I have a feeling those Corrupted Hint Blocks are everywhere, so keep hitting them! I'll translate any messages received! Alright, off you go now!" he said with a light chuckle.

Luigi left E. Gadd's lab and went to see Merlon and Merlessa. They were happy to see him, "Ah, Luigi, there you are. Are you fully rested?" asked Merlon.

"Yep, Luigi is A-okay!" he said comically.

"That's wonderful, as its time for your next run!" Merlessa started. "You'll be heading to Chimney Mountain, which is a very tall and skinny volcano. In the old days, when Mage Land was still part of the surroundings, Chimney Mountain overlooked the Barrel Volcano. It was just to the southwest of it! The Forest of the Druids is directly south from it, so you'll be taking a trip to the north!"

"The wizards that occupy this land are wizards of fire. Shaman, Mages and Witches go there to learn arts of pyromancey, so be on your guard!" Merlon stated with a warning.

"You got it, thanks for the info!" Luigi said as he excused himself.

Luigi then headed to Merlicity's shop to stock up. She coyly blew him a kiss upon entering her abode. Luigi blushed as she spoke, "Well if it isn't my favorite customer! What can I help you with sweety?"

Luigi stocked up on some things, but this time he noticed some things on a higher shelf that were much more elaborate, "What's that stuff?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Oh, that's my 'Top Shelf'! Sometimes I get strange one of a kind items in, but if you want them from me, then your typical coins won't do. Remember those Wizard Coins I mentioned to you a while ago? Yes, I will trade you Top Shelf items for those if you have enough."

Luigi looked at the top shelf items for sale and seen that there were five. Four of those items were magical cocktail potions that she herself made. She noticed, and before Luigi could say anything, "Oh, that's some of my home cooking! Please try it if you like! The first one there is called a Bracer, it'll double your durability and it does wonders against bug bites! The second one is called and Energizer, it'll double your strength and it really helps get through a long day of work! The third one there is called a Crystalline, it gives your body a magical shield that nullifies spells for a short while and it doubles as a great sun screen! The last one there is called the Power Blast, it does everything the others do, plus it doubles your agility, so its really great for when you just want to get through something really fast!"

The last item was a pair of blue boots, "Ah, I see the Super Boots have your eye don't they? Indeed they are a real great pair of boots, but alas, you seem to be short on Wizard Coins for those. I normally bend my prices, but not on these I don't!" Merlicity explained.

Luigi decided to try one of every one of her potions and he stored them safely, "Great, I hope you enjoy! Seriously, I stayed up all night making those..."

"T-thank you very much," Luigi said uneasily as he left.

Luigi then decided to pay Jinx a visit, but he didn't have much to say, "Ah, I see you lost the Vibe Shroom then? What a pity. I hear Merlicity sells them..., somehow, they just tend to show up sometimes in her shop. Pick one up if your having trouble beating certain baddies!"

With that, Luigi left Jinx's dojo and blew on the Warp Whistle and off to Mage Land he went.

*Mage Land, Feasting Swamp, Outside the Village of the Druids*

Luigi landed on the riverside of the Feasting Swamp, disembarking from the magical winds that took him there. Before him, the dock stood with the strange ferryman waiting for him.

Luigi walked over to him as he waved him over. "Ah, its good to see you again my friend and in such good spirits too!" said the ferryman as Luigi boarded his boat. The ferryman pushed the boat away from the dock with his paddle and away they went.

Luigi looked over the side of the boat and deep beneath the sludgy brown water he still could see the faces of the dead leering back at him. He recoiled and began whistling softly to put himself at ease. "So who is this guy, Weeg?" Mario asked quietly.

Before Luigi could respond, the ferryman seemed to be able to hear Mario and reply, "Oh, just an average ferryman whose waited a long time for a dark chapter in Mage Land history to finally come to a close. We are headed to Chimney Mountain, correct? Ah, Chimney Mountain, t'was such a splendid sight back in the day! After the split, the floating island had no way of supplying the mountain with magma and as a result, the volcano died. However, the resourceful Pyromancers came together and transfigured the entire mountain into a massive magical furnace! With such power at our disposal, we were able to make crafts from metal, clay and glass. So as such, much culture in the village ahead is centered around arts and crafts! The passion of the Pyromancers for the arts was truly one of a kind!" he went on reminiscing.

The ferryman went on until another old rickety dock came into view. "Look bro, this must be it!" Luigi said, eager to disembark.

Luigi quickly hopped off and the ferryman waited patiently at the dock for his eventual return, "Be wary friends, for an angry flame now burns deep within Chimney Mountain!" the ferryman warned.

Luigi approached the metal gates that led into a village. Mario seemed bothered, "Hey Weeg, how did that guy know where we were going? No one told him."

"Well he is a wizard Mario, I'm sure he knows lotsa stuff!" Luigi said passing it off.

Greaper appeared, "Hmm, not only that, but he knows about old stuff too."

"Yeah, like ancient things!" elaborated Boo.

"And he talked liked he seen it all before...," Dry Bones added.

"Never mind all that now, though, we have to get moving. The village ahead is the Village of the Pyromancers," Greaper informed.

The bros. Looked at one another and with a nod, "Lets go!" they said together in unison.

*Village of the Pyromancers*

As the party entered the Village of the Pyromancers, they quickly took the sights in. The village was covered in a smokey vale and it was hard to breathe. The cobblestone walkways had cracked, revealing deep holes in the ground. Within these holes and cracks, shined bright orange flames. Any water source was polluted by sulfur and too hot to drink. Luigi coughed, "Sufferin' spaghetti! It's really hard to breathe here Mario! The air is as thick as calm sauce!"

"Really? I don't know, I can't breathe without my body! Hang in there Weeg, this must be the curse that's on this place!" Mario deduced.

Greaper appeared, "Shh, do you hear that?" he said as everyone went quiet. The small sound of a Music Box could be heard. It's tone, irritating. "Another Music Box, be careful Luigi, we don't yet know what effect it has on the villagers!"

Just as Greaper vanished back into his hiding place, a guttural growl came from a wizard that had appeared from the smoke. His movements were erratic and he seemed very agitated. Luigi took a defensive pose and Mario took an offensive pose, despite not being able to do anything. Then, the wizard spotted Luigi and drool came from his mouth. He roared at Luigi and bolted straight for him in a blind rage.

"Jump Luigi, he's angry as a hornet!" Mario shouted.

"Here I go!" Luigi said as he quickly performed a squat into a High Jump. Luigi jumped into the air and made it above the smoke line. A lone chimney stood in front of the view of the actual Chimney Mountain. Luigi took notice of the structure and flutter kicked to slow his descent. Luckily, he landed on a rooftop. However, below him, a flurry a angry pyromancers crowded beneath him, filling the streets.

"Guys, there's a building with a large chimney up ahead!" Luigi noted.

"That must be where the Music Box is stashed!" Greaper deduced.

"Yeah, its just like the last one!" Boo added.

"You mean in a high place where everyone can hear it?" Dry Bones clarified.

"Well then, let's go get it and smash it to bits!" Mario said flatly.

"Okie-dokie!" Luigi agreed as he darted off across the many rooftops. As he jumped and jumped he found it harder and harder to breathe the closer he got to the chimney. Other smaller chimney's erupted with a black smoke that seemed alive. Luigi noticed the house he was on reacted to his presence as a black mass came from its own chimney. "Oh no, that's not just an ordinary smog its...!" Luigi started as Mario finished.

"SMOOORGGS!" Mario shouted in disgust as the black mass became many tiny fluffy creatures of soot with glowing yellow eyes.

They all stared at Luigi, "SmOrG!" they uttered.

Luigi reacted with disgust, "Yech, Smorgs! Great, just what I needed, living pollution!" he finished as he jumped away to another rooftop.

"Let's see, we have mad pyromancers below and Smorgs up top, any ideas Weeg?" Mario asked urgently.

"Hold on, I need another look!" Luigi said as he performed another High Jump. He leaped into the sky and this time he saw something that was both disgusting and horrifying. The tallest chimney in the village was covered in Smorgs. So much so, the black mass resembled a Blooper. Long tendrils composed of these fluffy creatures snared the chimney, preventing access from above. Luigi landed with a grossed out composure. "Gross, they weren't there before, they must have been attracted to the Music Box!" he said with irritation. "That means we have no choice but to enter the front door and sweep them out from the inside!"

"Yeah, we need to get through all those angry wizards first. Hmm. I know, what we need is a distraction!" Mario claimed.

Greaper emerged, "Why not try your machine? The Smorgs are pollution after all!" he said as he vanished.

"Oh, good one! I can just scoop up the Smorgs and when they fill up the Poltergust, I'll just put it in reverse and cover the wizards in soot!" Luigi planned.

"You really tink that's gonna work, bro?" Mario asked puzzled.

"Like a charm, Mario! Remember how sticky these guys are? We had to clean them out of Peach's attic in the castle that one time, remember?"

"Yeah, that was a fun way to spend a weekend...," Mario said reminiscing in disgust.

Luigi revved up the Poltergust and sucked up some Smorgs from a nearby chimney. The Poltergust moaned in response and then made it back to full strength. The Dual Scream chimed and Luigi picked it up, "What was that Luigi? My sensors just picked up a nasty decline in the Poltergust's power!" E. Gadd asked worriedly.

"Not to worry Professor, I'm just cleaning up a little Smorg problem is all!" Luigi claimed.

"Oh, well do be careful! The Poltergust can only handle so many Smorgs before it overheats! They are creatures of fire after all!" he laughed as he hung up.

Luigi traveled from rooftop to rooftop catching Smorgs as he got closer and closer to the large building. After catching many Smorgs, the Poltergust had enough and Luigi flipped it in reverse. He found himself standing atop a small house that was directly in front of the large building that resembled some kind of art studio. The massive chimney was erected from the very center of the building and the Music Box could be heard much clearer. The wizards crowded beneath Luigi. They trampled over each other to get to him. "You ready, Weeg?" Mario said as he appeared.

"I got it!" Luigi said as he aimed the nozzle at the crowd of wizards below. With a massive gust, the vacuum expelled every Smorg it had consumed and they exploded with a cloud of soot. "It worked, yahoo!" Luigi said as he viewed his handiwork. The pyromancers were dazed and confused, blinded by the soot. Luigi high tailed it for the big metal double doors and opened them with haste. He shined his flashlight inside, "Hello?" he said as he slammed the doors behind him, sealing them shut.

All was quiet inside the building and Luigi noticed that it really was some kind of art studio. Luigi found a Hint Block near the door. He hit the Hint Block and recorded the garbled creepy static message.

Luigi found that the chimney was erected from a kiln that was placed at the center of the circular room. The room was filled with broken glass, clay sculptures and creepy paintings of ghosts and other strange things. He approached the kiln only to find its two small doors padlocked. "Rats!" Mario shouted.

"We need the key...," Luigi said flatly.

"Thanks Captain Obvious!" Mario said sarcastically. "Huh? What's that noise?" he continued as both he and his brother turned around. They witnessed a large orange key levitating in the air and heard a disembodied spirit laugh and giggle at him.

"...That laugh..., it's a Boo Luigi, use your Dark Light!" Mario urged.

The invisible Boo darted around the room as several golden ghosts and wizard ghosts appeared to assist the Boo. Luigi quickly dispatched some of the spirits, but quickly realized that they would keep coming as long as the Boo was still around. Luigi shined his Dark Light on the floating key. The Boo suffered under the light and it began to become tangible. Luigi then felt his breath taken by a pale ghost that began to strangle him from behind. Mario appeared and whacked the ghost away, "No you don't you spiteful specter!" he shouted angrily. Mario then realized, "Weeg, I can hurt them in this state!"

Luigi regained his breath with a slight cough, "Nice one, bro! Keep'em off me while I handle the Boo!"

With Mario's help, Luigi shined his Dark Light on the Boo once more and revealed him. The Boo smiled, "I am Boonardo, the great artist! I hate it when people look over my shoulder while I create!" he said as Luigi used the Poltergust on him. The Boo struggled as Mario batted away ghosts. Luigi easily dispatched the Boo and it vanished into the vacuum. The other ghosts departed as the lights in the studio came on. The creepy paintings that were on canvases were now blank white sheets of paper. Luigi wiped his brow as he sighed with relief, the key dropping to the floor. Luigi picked up the key and opened the kiln. A massive treasure trove of coins and jewels poured out. "Yay!" Luigi cheered as he collected the mass of valuables. After he was done picking up every coin, Luigi peered into the dark kiln. He shined his flashlight and heard the echo of the Smorgs at the top singing along with the Music Box.

Mario poked his head inside, "Hello, Mario Brothers Cleaning Service, we understand you have a Smorg problem! Come on Weeg, we have work to do!"

"Okie dokie, here we go!" Luigi said as he climbed into the kiln. He stood up inside and shined the flashlight all around. He noticed that the chimney walls had broken structures made of wood and platforms that he could easily scale. Luigi jumped to a platform and as soon as he did, the kiln came to life. It lit up the entire chimney with its orange light as he heard the giggling of ghosts. Supernatural flames began to rise slowly. "Whoa, let's get outta here!" Luigi shouted in a panic as he jumped up to another platform. This platform was broken and was adjacent to another one across from him. He leaped to it, the flames coming on strong. Above him was a pole of wood sticking out of the wall even he couldn't jump to.

Greaper emerged, "Use the light cast by the flames to cast your brother onto the walls of the chimney! He can interact with nonliving things! He may be able to pave a new path for you!" he said as he vanished.

Luigi nodded and waited for the flames to reach a height where Mario could be cast onto the walls. Luigi hung down onto the ledge to cast a shadow, "I got this Weeg!" Mario said as he grabbed the wooden stake and removed it from the wall. Mario placed the wooden stake at a lower altitude so Luigi could jump to it. Luckily, Mario also placed it directly beneath another stake that was also to high for a regular jump. Luigi used his High Jump to reach and grab hold. He pulled himself up and was perched on the stake like a raven. Luigi then began jumping to other wooden stakes that led higher up until he came to one that had a craggy wall next to him. He latched on and began to climb, the flames increased in speed as they rose higher and higher.

"Hurry Mister Green, those flames are getting closer... and hotter too!" Boo said with a look of urgency on his face.

Luigi made it to the top of the craggy wall and looked around and seen a dangling chain in the middle of the chimney space. He leaped to it and grabbed it and this caused him to swing back and forth. Luigi swung to the opposite side and grabbed onto some grooves etched into the walls. Using his super strong grip, he edged his way over to a higher set of grooves and jumped up to set his fingers into the next set. Another set was above him followed by another. Luigi repeated the process of jumping until there were no more groves above him. He jumped to the chain again which now began to descend slowly. Luigi climbed the chain quickly until he seen a stone platform. He jumped to it as the chain broke and fell. The platform was stranded, "You're almost there Mister Green!" Dry Bones cheered.

Luigi seen a set of grooves to his left and needed to use the wall dash to reach them. He dashed to the grooves and climbed to another set of grooves above him. Now, there was no place left to go. Luigi looked above and a platform suspended by two spokes came into view. Using a High Jump, Luigi jumped to this platform.

This platform was the valve at the top of the chimney. Above him, were the Smorgs and at the center of the platform lie the Music Box. "There it is Weeg! Smash it!" Mario said with urgency.

"Time to end this angry music!" Luigi said as he got out Mario's Hammer.

Before he could do anything, the pesky Smorgs grabbed the Music Box and hid it amongst them. Both brothers moaned. "Weeg, did you see the magenta colored ones? Grab them with your Poltergust. They should scatter and leave when all the magenta ones are defeated!" Mario informed.

"Oh yeah, the magenta ones are the strongest ones!" Luigi said as he armed himself with the nozzle of the vacuum. The Smorgs came down like snowflakes onto the plate and Luigi noticed that the valve plate moved when enough weight was on one side of it. Luigi quickly began to suck up the Smorgs to even out the plate so he would not fall off. The Poltergust moaned in protest. More Smorgs came down and Luigi made quick work of them. The Poltergust was full and beeped with a flashing red light. He reversed the poltergust and blasted the Smorgs back into their pile. This caused the magenta colored ones to fall down. He quickly sucked up three of them. Others escaped into the horde. Luigi repeated the process two more times dodging both ghosts and Smorg attacks. Eventually, all the magenta Smorgs were sucked up and the horde began to scatter revealing the outside sky. The Music Box dropped down and shattered as soon as it hit the plate. It went silent. A rumbling could be felt beneath him.

"Luigi, that's our cue to get out of here!" Greaper insisted. Luigi High Jumped out of the chimney and flutter kicked his way down as the valve opened releasing the pressured fire like a blow torch. He landed safely on top of the studio roof and witnessed the pyromancers wake up from their enraged trances.

Luigi got off the roof as one pyromancer came up to him, "D-did you do this?" he asked curiously.

"Yep, we removed your Smorg problem and that nasty Music Box!" Luigi claimed cheerfully, his face covered in soot.

The surrounding pyromancers cheered as they began to assemble. They invited Luigi to join them. They surrounded the town square that was just south of the studio. The elder came to meet with Luigi. He shook Luigi's hand with both of his in gratitude, "Oh, thank you so much sir! That terrible anger has left us! However, it looks like darkness still presides over our village... But the bright side is, at least we are all free in our minds! Dear Sir, I could not help but notice you wear the color green. Are you by chance..., the Green Thunder as spoken of by prophecy?"

Luigi blushed, "Well, some seem to think so! I did lift the curse on the Forest of the Druids!"

The elder gasped, "Then it must be true! If you defeated the Rag Hag, then the Wheezing Wizard will also fall before you!"

"The Wheezing Wizard...?" said both brothers in unison.

"Yes, the Wheezing Wizard is the one responsible for polluting this village with his wrath filled fire magic! He hides deep within Mount Chimney controlling the furnace for the Shaman of Shadows!" explained the elder. "He tried to force us to create works of art for Merloom! What a travesty!"

"Alright, everything's gonna be okay, Luigi will flush him out!" Luigi said bravely.

All the pyromancers cheered as one little girl wizard in a red robe approached him and tugged on his overalls, "Hey Mister, listen, listen!" she said ecstatically.

"What is it?" Luigi replied.

"You came from the Druid's home? Then you know about Fire Flowers then? They won't work here. Especially not on the Wheezing Wizard. Instead, I recommend using Ice Flowers! I heard a rumor that he doesn't like the cold and we use Ice Flowers here as fire extinguishers when young pyromancers lose control of their flames during practice. Although, I haven't seen many lately. I hope they're okay...," she said with her hand placed under her chin.

"Thanks little one, I'll be on the look out for them!" Luigi said with a thumbs up.

The elder came to him again, "To get to Mount Chimney you must continue north. Just outside this village is the Fire Flower Fields. I'm not sure what has become of the fields, so do be careful," he said as he withdrew.

"You heard him Luigi, the Fire Flower Fields are up ahead. You want to keep moving or visit home base for a moment?" Mario asked.

"Let's talk to E. Gadd and the others and see what they have to say about our next move!" Luigi insisted.

"You got it!" Mario agreed. Luigi pulled out the Warp Whistle and away he went, back to Monstro Town.

*End of Chapter*


	10. 2-2: Fire Flower Fright!

Super Luigi Bros.

And

The Shaman of Shadows

World 2: Mount Chimney

2-2: Fire Flower Fright!

*Monstro Town*

In E. Gadd's Lab, Luigi and the others crowded around his computer as he had translated the Hint Blocks EVP message. "Listen closely boys, here it is!" E Gadd. Whispered loudly.

The computer whirred, "Sir, I'm finished with my drawing. How does it look?" said the voice of a small male child.

Another voice replied with a wheezing cough, "Hmm, it's... frightening. Why would you draw something like this?" finished the older voice with a cough.

"And that's all for now, keep it up Luigi! I must know more!" E. Gadd said as he spun around cheerfully in his chair.

The brother made their way to Merlon and Merlessa. They were greeted as usual, "Ah, great job freeing the pyromancers from that nightmare!" Merlon said joyfully.

"As you may have already guessed, your next stop is the Fire Flower Fields," Merlessa elaborated. "Because of the Wheezing Wizard? They called him? The place is very active, so be careful when trekking through."

"We don't know 100% what to expect when you get there, but your ultimately headed to the Foundry at the base of Mount Chimney. In its depths is a secret entrance into the mountain's base," Merlon claimed.

"I take it the Foundry is where metal products are made?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Yes, but thanks to Merloom and his Wheezing Wizard, its closed up and abandoned," Merlessa explained.

"Oh, and let me guess, its haunted too?" Mario asked with a tint of sarcasm.

"Indeed...," Merlon retorted.

"Well, Weeg, time to get going!" Mario hurried along.

"Okie dokie then, let's go!" Luigi said as they excused themselves. Luigi used the Warp Whistle and returned to the Village of the Pyromancers.

*Village of the Pyromancers*

Luigi went north out of the village and after a few small trees a glowing reddish field could be seen before him. It was a field of Fire Flowers that were overrun with fire breathing Piranha Plants. A middle aged pyromancer stood worriedly nearby.

Luigi approached her, "Hello, you seem pretty freaked out. Are you alright?"

"Oh, you're the man from before! I'm so glad I caught you! These Fire Flowers need to be harvested and when they weren't I became worried about old man Merlash! He's the caretaker of these fields. Could you go to his house and check on him, please?" she asked nervously.

"Sure thing!" Luigi agreed. Luigi excused himself and traveled the winding roads fending off fire breathing piranha plants until he came to a rather small house. It was the only house that could be seen in the entire area so this had to be the place he was told about. The house was made of clay that was fired into porcelain. Like all wizards houses, it was circular with a spinning roof. An elderly man with a crotchety tone to his voice was shouting out into the fields. Luigi approached the elder cautiously. "Hello...?' he said softly.

"Huh, who's there?" said the elder. "Ah, why if it isn't the young fella that helped out the village! Hey son, would help an old wizard get these nasty pests off my lawn! I got problems out here with all these rampaging Smorgs, Fire Ghosts and some nasty Piranha Plants! They're trying to destroy my house for some reason! Oh, by the way, my name is Merlash..., sorry for the late introduction, sonny!" he finished.

"Sure I'd be happy to help, but what should I do?" Luigi asked curiously.

"Come on inside before more cretins show up!" Merlash insisted. Luigi did just that and the wizard's home was chock full of gardening tools, a nice clean bed, a Hint Block, and three '?' Blocks. "It ain't much, but its home. Well anyway, you see those three blocks their? They got Ice Flowers in'em. The last three I was able to find since the Wheezing Wizard moved in! What I need you to do, is get rid of some of those baddies outside. Make'em calm down by disposin' of a few of'em! While you're doin' that, I'm gonna set up a magic barrier that'll protect my home. Once it's up that should be it! Just be sure to manage those Ice Flowers well, if you need'em!"

"Okie dokie, Luigi got it!" Luigi said bravely as he raised his fist.

Then, more fire balls hit the house and made it shake, "Oh no, here come more of'em! Get ready!"

Luigi hit the Hint Block and recorded its ghastly static and then hit a '?' Block and out came an Ice Flower. He consumed it and transformed. His overalls were now green and his shirt and cap were a light blue. A light mist could be seen emitting from his body. Luigi left the house and outside, he was confronted with three very large piranha plants. He chucked Ice Balls at them and they were destroyed. Behind him, fire enchanted Gold Ghosts appeared with a fright. He quickly doused them with Ice Balls, removing their fiery shields and then he promptly sucked them into the Poltergust. Evil Wizard Spirits emerged, as black as could be with glowing red eyes. Before Luigi could respond, more piranha plants emerged from the ground, blocking his path to the wizard ghosts. He dodged the Will-o-Wisp spells and did away with the piranha plants. He then was able to dispose of the wizard ghosts. All things seemed quiet for the time being, so Luigi returned to Merlash. He was chanting a spell behind Luigi and he finished it creating a torch of flames that emerged from the ground.

"Great job sonny, we do that two more times and we'll be set!" Merlash stated. He then went to another corner of his house and when he did, more monsters and ghosts showed up. Their numbers increased this time. Luigi quickly dispatched more piranha plants, but the ghosts changed their attention Merlash. He continued his chant as Luigi provided protection for him. Like before, Luigi managed to fight back the horde while Merlash completed the second phase of his spell. "Great work, you are great help to an old man!" he praised.

Luigi wiped his brow as the pyromancer went to a third corner of his house. A loud rumble could be heard and Luigi shot his gaze to the source. It was the horde of Smorgs from the village. They communed into a formless mass. Mario emerged, "It looks like they're ready for round two, Weeg!"

"SmOrG!" they uttered as they formed tendrils to reach out to Luigi. Luigi fired his Ice Balls at the tendrils and the Smorgs retracted, not liking the cold. Meanwhile, more baddies showed up. The Smorgs however, seemed to not react to their presence. They reached out with their tendrils and would crush or bat away anything that got between them and Luigi. Luigi discovered that when the Smorgs got cold, they would huddle close together making them more vulnerable. Luigi continued to shower them with Ice Balls in this state and they erupted, flying everywhere. They were dazed as Luigi began searching for the magenta colored ones. As expected there were some left behind. Luigi scooped them up and the Smorgs scattered, vanishing into the field of flowers.

Merlash completed the ritual and a red transparent shield now covered his home like a dome. "Great job sonny, that seems to have calmed things down a bit! Come on inside, I need to reward you for giving me such great help!"

"Great, I'll be right there!" Luigi said as he entered the wizard's home.

Once inside, Merlash chanted a spell and a treasure chest appeared at the center of the room. "Go ahead, take the contents of this ol' box of mine. I find all sorts of stuff when I harvest the Fire Flowers and I always place'em in this chest. So, go ahead and take it, I don't need'em."

Luigi opened the box and inside was a pool of money. Luigi scooped it all up with the Poltergust and then turned to face the old wizard. "Thank you very much!" Luigi said gratefully.

"So, you headed to the Wheezing Wizard's place?" Merlash asked.

"Uh-huh, I am, do you know anything about him?" Luigi replied.

"Not much, other than the ghost stories children pass around about being able to hear his breathing late at night. I did also hear rumors that he hates the cold, so you might be better off finding out what happened to the Ice Flowers. I'd give you what I have left, but I still need them around here, for obvious reasons. Either way, blessings upon you my boy. If you truly are the Green Thunder, then you are destined to beat him!" Merlash stated with a hearty laugh. "Also, if your heading to the Foundry, you'll have to find it in the brush of the Wildfire Woods that lies beyond these fields. Those woods surround the base of Mount Chimney. Be careful though, you'll find a few more obstacles before you hit the ol' Foundry."

"Thank you!" Luigi said as he excused himself.

Back outside and back on track, Luigi found the woman from before and she seemed relieved, "Oh, thank goodness, thank you so much for checking on him! I'd give you something valuable as a reward myself, but I... wait, this key!" she started as she pulled a large key from her robes. "It isn't a treasure, but it may lead to one! I found it here in the fields, but I don't know what lock it opens. Maybe you can find out?"

Luigi took the key and thanked the woman and with that he was on his way. Greaper appeared over his shoulder, "Well, aren't you a nice guy!" he started with a laugh.

Mario appeared, "Sure is, my bro is the best!" he praised, causing Luigi to blush a bit.

"Well, before we head into the woods up ahead, we probably should search for clues about the missing Ice Flowers, don't you think?"

"Good idea, maybe if I bash a few blocks around here I can find a clue!" Luigi said as he began searching for every floating block he could find in the fields. Eventually, he hit a block with a beanstalk in it. It climbed into the dark soot ridden clouds.

"Hey, is this a clue?" Dry Bones asked.

"Maybe, let's see where it goes!" Mario said eagerly.

Luigi jumped up to the vine and began to ascend. Once he came to the end, he noticed he was able to place his feet on the clouds without falling through. A nasty storm raged in the sky as ghosts could be seen floating above him. Luigi found the place to be littered with treasure and began to collect as much as he could until coming to a jump at the end. The strong cloud moved enough to where Luigi could see a smaller cloud with a strange black keyhole sticking out of thin air. Quickly remembering the key he had, he leaped over to it as the other cloud shifted away from him. The magic key reacted as Luigi came within range and he stuck the key into the hole. A bright flash of light enveloped him and he vanished.

*?*

Luigi reappeared in a small room that was chock full of treasures. It was dark and he was unable to see much of anything. "Where am I?" Luigi said aloud.

"I'm not sure Luigi, use your flashlight!" Mario suggested.

Luigi shined some light on the room and in the pool of gold coins, a massive blue '!' Switch could be seen. Luigi smiled as he noticed it, "Mario, its just like the Fire Flowers in the forest of the Druids! Let's release the Ice Flowers!" said Luigi as he began to approach it.

Suddenly, the switch levitated as Luigi began to approach it. He could hear the giggling of ghosts as the switch floated upward, teasingly. Then a loud rumbling could be heard. Torch light lit the cylindrical room and the walls started moving downward. The room started to become alarmingly hot. "We got to get that switch, bro!" Mario said as he pointed to a platform that was sticking out the side of the wall. Luigi jumped to it and he began scaling the tower in pursuit of the switch. As Luigi rose above the heat he noticed that the pool of gold coins was now a literal pool as they had all melted into a sea of liquid gold. "Mama mia!" Luigi shouted as the tower walls continued to sink.

Luigi continued to climb after the switch until there were no platforms or anything to grab onto, just a '?' Block that shared the space with him. He hit it and found another Ice Flower within, but since he already had one, he placed this one in reserve. "I got an idea, Weeg! Make platforms with Ice Balls!" Mario instructed.

"Oh yeah, good idea, bro!" Luigi said inspired as he began making platforms of ice. Thanks to this new technique, Luigi got within range and took out his Nok-Nok Shell. He aimed carefully at the switch and kicked with all his might. The disembodied spirits made a gasp as the shell collided with the switch, pressing it down. A bright blue flash enveloped the room as it freeze flashed everything. Luigi was then transported out.

*Fire Flower Fields*

Luigi was transported just outside a small tower that was hidden from view by shadow. It was nowhere near Merlash's lonely house and it was quite old. It vanished into the darkness ceasing to exist, "Way to go, Weeg, we found the Ice Flowers!" Mario praised.

"That's a relief, now I guess its off to the Wildfire Woods," Luigi said.

"Oh, are we not taking a break this time?" Greaper asked.

"Nope, we're going to just keep the ice balls rolling!" Luigi said confidently.

"That's the spirit, Weeg!" Mario said with encouragement.

*End of Chapter*


	11. 2-3: Charcoal Chase!

Super Luigi Bros.

And

The Shaman of Shadows

World 2: Mount Chimney

2-3: Charcoal Chase!

*Wildfire Woods*

Luigi traveled through the creepy Wildfire Woods all the while flashing his light to see if he could see anything suspicious, but the smokey fog prevented him from seeing very much. "The trees here are strange, no leaves whatsoever...," Luigi said as he scratched his head in confusion. As he investigated further, the orange light of campfires came into view and they seemed to be littered throughout the woods.

He approached what seemed to be a camp site that was tended to by around five pyromancers. They sat happily around the camp fire they had built and seemed to be telling ghost stories.

"Did you hear this one?" started a little girl. "I hear that you can hear the Wheezing Wizard's cough at midnight if everything is dead quiet!" she said with a spooky tone to her voice.

Everyone 'oohed' and 'aahed' as they listened to her. An older, motherly pyromancer noticed Luigi. "Well hello and salutations good sir!" she said cheerfully. "Are you by any chance lost? If so, you are welcome to sit with us and rest if you like!" she continued with an inviting tone.

Luigi rubbed the back of his head anxiously, not wanting to be rude. He sat down on a log as many of the wizards ate marshmallow treats. "Hello, um, my name's Luigi, so what are you guys doing out here?" he said breaking the ice.

Before anyone could respond, the little girl cheerfully jumped up from her seat with her arms outstretched. "We make charcoal!" she replied with a smile.

"Oh dear, please do settle down and eat your marshmallow!" the motherly wizard scolded. She then faced Luigi with her hand placed gently on her cheek. "First, let me introduce myself. I am Merlerin and that one there is Merleit, my daughter. These nice gentlemen here, are my assistants," she explained. The three male wizards greeted Luigi casually while they ate away at their treats. She continued, "We are pyromancers that make a living out here in these woods doing things like selling firewood or making charcoal for the artists back in the village or elsewhere. It's a humble living, really. At night, we build campfires and tell stories to one another."

"That sounds nice, me and my brother are handymen. We fix things back home in the Mushroom Kingdom!" Luigi stated.

"How nice, so you're a handyman? Would it be so much trouble for me to ask for your help?" Merlerin asked shyly.

"Not at all. What do you need help with?" Luigi asked with a friendly tone.

"Well, do you see that caravan over there? The one being pulled by the two red Yoshi? It's full of charcoal and we would like an extra hand in finishing the load. In addition, many pyromancers here are talking of a haunting here in the woods. If it's not to much to ask, would you accompany us until we get to our cabin? We can be safe there," Merlerin spoke sweetly.

"Sure, I would be happy to help!" Luigi said cheerfully.

Greaper and Mario appeared behind Luigi, just out of sight. Greaper spoke first, "A haunting? Sounds like it could be trouble..."

"Weeg, let's stay on our toes!" Mario followed.

They vanished and Luigi approached Merlerin. She spoke, "You see these blackened logs of wood? This is the charcoal we make out here. Its for all kinds of things as I mentioned earlier. We were just finishing up this job when these three got pooped. Would you mind going into the woods and gather about three more loads for me?"

"Sure thing!" Luigi said as he turned his flashlight on and went into the woods.

The smoke filled the air and gave the air an oppressive heat to it. Luigi adjusted his collar as he sweated. He continued down the narrow path until he came to a small clearing. The space had piles of charcoal that was neatly prepped for transfer. As Luigi approached a sudden dread came upon him and the charcoal logs began to shake violently as ghostly giggles could be heard. Around thirty small logs of charcoal levitated into the air and vanished into the woods leaving the clearing empty. Boo emerged from Luigi's shadow, "Oh, of course that would happen..." he snarked.

Dry Bones followed, "Well this stinks..."

Luigi sighed in irritation and went deeper into the woods. The woods were filled with wild and gnarly paths. Immediately, Luigi witnessed three floating logs of charcoal. The invisible ghosts laughed as they noticed Luigi's presence. They came at him with an attempt to smash him with the logs. Luigi shined his Dark Light on the three spirits as they came within range and they appeared in the discomfort of the light. As they suffered, Luigi shined the regular flashlight on them freezing them in place and he sucked them into the Poltergust. Luigi then collected the three logs under his left arm.

As he continued, he dispatched four more. Now he slung the charcoal logs over his left shoulder as he carried them. He bashed blocks and found another three. Another two hid behind a tree. Five more hid in shrubs. Four more hid around warp pipes. Two were found underground when Luigi used his ground pound technique. Another four were found with the Dark Light. And Finally, the last three were found in the tree tops.

Proud of himself, Luigi easily carried the thirty logs over his left shoulder as he carried his flashlight with his right. "Great going Weeg, now let's get back to Merlerin!" Mario said as he praised his brother.

He did so, and upon returning to Merlerin, she was amazed at his strength. "My, my, you sure are strong! Most these fellas can carry is two or three!" she marveled.

"Oh, this is nothing! I've lifted heavier before!" Luigi said confidently. "By the way, ghosts tried to snatch up these logs, but I got rid of them!"

"Oh dear, then we must hurry," she urged. "The paranormal activity must be getting worse!"

Luigi agreed as he placed the last of the logs onto the caravan in a neatly fashion. Off to the other side of the caravan floated a Hint Block that was hard to notice. Luigi luckily noticed it and recorded its message. He then wiped himself off and got onto the caravan with the rest of the wizards. Merleit spoke excitedly, "You can come to our house and rest! I hear mom has a nice reward for you when we get there!"

"Hush now child, and take your seat. I don't want you falling out of the caravan!" Merlerin said sternly.

"Okay mom!" Merleit complied as she sat next to Luigi.

Merlerin then commanded the Yoshis to go forward, "Come Yoshi, let's go home!" she said cheerfully.

"Yoshi!" said the two Yoshis happily.

The two Yoshis effortlessly pulled the caravan onto the main road and their journey home began. The three wizard companions began talking amongst themselves about magical trading cards while Merleit turned to Luigi. "Hey mister, did you know the Wheezing Wizard has that title because he has trouble breathing? I hear he has some sort of lung disease. It must be kinda scary not being able to breath all the time... I heard from the adults that there was a master pyromancer who had trouble breathing that lived a very long time ago. Y-you don't think its his ghost do you?"

Luigi seemed to stare off into space and become pale, "I do...," he muttered.

Merleit gulped in fear as something caught her eye in the distance. "Hey mister, w-what's that?" she asked fearfully as she pointed behind them.

Luigi gazed into the darkness of the woods behind them and noticed the horizon glowed orange like a massive forest fire erupted. It approached quickly and Luigi stared into the roaring flames as they engulfed the entire woods behind them.

The Yoshis suddenly stopped and shivered in fear. "What's wrong, Yoshi?!" Merlerin asked with astonishment.

"We have a problem madam," said one of her assistants nervously.

Merlerin joined Luigi and her daughter's gaze, bearing witness to the approaching fire wall. She didn't have time to think before the Yoshi's whined in torment. Luigi turned around and jumped out to them, knowing full well what was wrong. "Ghosts are nearby, most Yoshis are afraid of supernatural things!" Luigi said scanning the area for the culprits.

Then, appearing from thin air, three Boos made their presence known. The largest one spoke first, "Hello, my name is Bootch and these are my friends..., wait, that guy over there is my friend!" he said slightly confused as he pointed to the middle sized Boo. He turned to the small Boo, "Who did you say you were again?"

The small Boo shivered, "Uh..., I'm Boopi..., I'm new remember?"

"Oh, oh yeah, and what were you supposed to do again?" Bootch asked, raising a brow.

"Um..., I'm 'Job Shadowing' today...," Boopi claimed.

"Hah, I see what you did there! Ahem, so yeah, me and friend, Boogzy here, are here to light up your life a little!" Bootch claimed as he chuckled. "And that guy's here to watch and learn!"

"Yeah, so no funny business, see?" Boogzy followed like a ghostly 'yes' man.

The three Boos vanished and the Yoshis perked up ready to move as the fire drew closer. Luigi boarded the caravan, "Tell the Yoshi's to keep moving, I got a plan!" he said.

"Right, no need to tell me twice!" Merlerin said as she signaled the Yoshis.

The Yoshis took off as the forest fire quickly approached. Luigi hopped onto the back of the cart on top of the charcoal load. The caravan picked up speed as the flames drew closer. Luigi took his Dark Light and shined it into the flames. The Dark Light repelled the flames slightly as he heard the shriek of a Boo. He followed the shriek with the Dark Light and caught Boopi in it. "Merlerin slow down a bit so I can nab the Boo!" Luigi instructed.

"What? Well, okay if you think you can!" Merlerin agreed reluctantly.

The caravan slowed and Boopi got just close enough for Luigi to aim the Poltergust at him. Boopi stood no chance being inexperienced and was sucked into the device. "I got'cha!" Luigi said satisfyingly.

The other two Boos howled, "No, not the new guy! We barely knew ya kid! That's it, let's kick it up a notch!" Bootch roared.

"That was amazing mister!" Merleit cheered.

Then suddenly, the caravan hit a bump and Merleit stumbled, "Watch out little bambina-!" Luigi shouted as he caught the girl's hand before she fell overboard.

"Merleit!" Merlerin shouted with concern. The other wizards crowded Luigi to help him stay aboard.

Without a breath of relief, Boogzy emerged, "Ha, now I gots ya!" he said as he began to collect blue fire in his mouth.

"Oh no," Luigi moaned as he closed his eyes to prepare for the attack.

"Not yet mister! Use this Magic Mirror!" Merleit said taking a Magic Mirror out from her robes.

Luigi opened his eyes and snatched the Magic Mirror just before Boogzy's ghostly flames engulfed him. Luigi rose from the flames completely unharmed, "Oh yeah, just what I needed!" he said as he held a cheering Merleit in his arms. He placed Merleit down and pointed the Poltergust at a now completely stunned Boogzy.

He effortlessly drew Boogzy into the vacuum as Boogzy cursed his luck. "Get'em for me boss!" he said with his last words.

Bootch roared in anger and the forest fire intensified. "You'll pay for that, see?! Let's see how you deal with this!" Bootch said as he fired a ghostly fireball at Luigi whose reflective body shrugged it off. However, this was a ruse as Bootch snatched Merleit right from behind him.

"Bambina!" Luigi shouted angrily.

"Ha, I know all about your fancy tricks from King Boo! You won't dare attack me while have this little pest!" Bootch threatened as he puppeted her in front of him.

Merleit grumbled, "Oh yeah, stupid! Hey mister, don't move!" she said as she cast a large fireball at Luigi. Luigi gasped as the fireball collided with him. It reflected back at Merleit and Bootch engulfing them both. Bootch shrieked as Merleit emerged unharmed. Luigi managed to catch her with his open arms.

"I'm a pyromancer! Fire can't hurt me!" Merleit claimed. "Now mister, get that other one!"

"You got it!" Luigi said as he handed her off to Merlerin's assistants.

Luigi held out his hand and collected a spark that danced between his fingers. Raising one finger into the air and aiming the other hand at Bootch. Luigi sent forth a lightning bolt with his Thunderhand. Bootch was completely disoriented as Luigi aimed the Poltergust at him.

With a quick flip of the switch, Bootch vanished into the vacuum, cursing his luck like the previous one. "Blast it all!" he shouted.

Just as bootch vanished, the forest fire had vanished without a trace. Luigi, now back to normal, looked back into the now dark woods, still as foggy as ever, but no fire at all, quiet and still. "It was an illusion all along, Weeg!" Mario spoke with a cheer.

"I had a hunch that's what it was!" Luigi said as he rubbed his nose.

The caravan came to a stop as it came to a nice looking cabin made from sturdy logs. Merlerin jumped up and hugged Merleit tightly. "Thank you so much Luigi! Words cannot put forth my feelings of appreciation to you for all you've done! Please, come into my home so I can properly thank you!"

Another pyromancer came from the cabin and showed much concern. He was a fatherly gentleman with a stern expression. "What's going on out here?" he asked deeply concerned.

"Oh, Merlsius, my loving husband! I have much to tell you!" Merlerin said as she disembarked with everyone in tow.

*Later, Inside the Cabin*

Merlsius faced Luigi, "So, from what my wife tells me..., you saved my little girl's life, my wife's and my workers. You also helped with the charcoal as well. Hmm, I really don't know how to thank you, but we are in your debt. I know, I'll have my workers fetch the old truck from the attic!" he said as the three workers did the task without being told.

The three wizards placed the trunk in the middle of the living room and it was quite dusty. "Go ahead, take whatever's inside. You've earned it!" Merlerin said to Luigi.

"Okie dokie!" Luigi said as he helped himself. He opened the chest and it contained many Gold Coins, Gold Bars and some Wizard Coins. He quickly scooped up every last piece of treasure.

"I know who you are...," Merlsius claimed. "You're the one spoken of in the prophecy about the Shaman of Shadows, the 'Green Thunder', aren't you? Yes, I see it now. Heh, never thought I'd ever meet you face to face. We never took the thought into consideration that you would a simple, yet very powerful human. We always believed you to be a wizard of some kind. It doesn't matter though. You're here for the Wheezing Wizard I take it? If you're truly the Green Thunder, then you'll trounce him. I know a little bit about him though. You probably already know of his breathing condition. This matches the description of a master level pyromancer of the past that existed during Merloom's age. I'm willing to bet he's some zombified construct built by Merloom. Anyway, it doesn't matter. The prophecy tells of your victory, so we have faith you'll win. Thank you again and blessings be upon you, Green Thunder!"

"Oh, one more thing," Merlerin said as the thought crossed her mind. "Up ahead, to the north is an area known as the Clay Pits. It's the place where we collect clay to make pottery in this land. It's very slippery and it's the last area before you reach the Foundry at the base of Mount Chimney."

Luigi thanked them and said his goodbyes as he politely excused himself. Outside, Mario and the Three Musty Fears emerged from his shadow.

"Well, that sure was some trip, wouldn't you say?" Greaper said sounding tired.

"Yeah, I like the part where we won!" Boo said with a laugh as he contorted his own face.

"That's always my favorite part too!" Dry Bones followed with a chuckle.

"I knew you could do it, Weeg, now, let's get to that Wheezing Wizard! He must be getting bored waiting for his butt-kicking appointment with us!" Mario said confidently.

Everyone cheered, "Alright, here we go!"

*End of Chapter*


	12. 2-4: Clay Pit Clash

Super Luigi Bros.

And

The Shaman of Shadows

World 2: Mount Chimney

2-4: Clay Pit Clash

Luigi stood in awe at the size of Mount Chimney as it now stood before him. All the trees from the Wildfire Woods had vanished as he left them. All around Mount Chimney lies a moat of reddish clay. Luigi stepped down into the moat and found the ground to give way under his feet, each step making an audible squishing noise. The clay stuck to Luigi's shoes, "Mama mia, this is gonna stain my shoes!" he said is disgust. "Hmm, I wonder where the Foundry is?" he said as he placed his hand over his brow and stood on his tip toes.

"It's probably around back or something," Mario pondered out loud.

"Good thinking, bro," Luigi agreed. As Mario dismissed himself, Luigi found a Hint Block in plain sight and recorded its message. Then, as he closed the Dual Scream, he heard a set of footsteps behind him. He darted around to set his gaze on no one. Again, he heard the footsteps behind him, only closer this time. He quickly about faced and once more..., found no one. For a third time, he heard the footsteps behind him, but as he turned around this time his eyes caught a sight that stunned him. A familiar figure stood before him, his brother, Mario. The brim of his hat covering his eyes.

The shadow of Mario appeared at Luigi's side, "What is this?" Mario asked befuddled.

'Mario' jumped into the air and Luigi instinctively defended himself. Luigi stepped back, making his brother's jump attack miss. Luigi placed a punch at Mario's chest and..., it shattered into chunks of clay! The Dual Scream chimed and Luigi answered it. E. Gadd was obviously on the line, "Luigi, where are you?! I got a huge paranormal reading where you are! Get out of there as soon as you can! It seems to be a hot spot!" he said as he hung up.

As Luigi hung up, a red clay Mario emerged from the ground from behind Luigi. He reacted quickly and back kicked the fake Mario, breaking it. Luigi then took in his surroundings and noticed that many clay Mario's began to form and surround him. A familiar voice, one that strikes fear into anyone who hears it, could be heard. "Ah, Luigi, my old friend, it's me! KING BOO!" announced the voice.

Luigi and Mario's shadow stood back to back, trying to find the King of all Boos. "King Boo! I knew you would show up eventually!" Luigi said as he armed himself with the Poltergust while scanning the environment.

"Show yourself Boo!" Mario demanded.

"In time, plumb-scum, in time! But first, I have an art project I want a second opinion on! So, could you critique my Mario statues? I want to know just how close to the original they are!" King Boo giggled deeply.

In that instant, all the Clay Mario clones leaped at Luigi. Luigi used his High Jump to get some air and many of the clones collided and they broke into pieces. Luigi began to run as more clones formed and came after him. Luigi dodged and counterattacked as he avoided getting surrounded. Only two clones at a time could reach him. He deflected punches, kicks, jump attacks and broke every clone that came his way. This went on for some time until Luigi was breathing heavily. Luigi backed up to get some distance between himself and the clones, but this time, as they approached, they lost all form and turned into puddles as only one lunged at Luigi. Luigi blocked the punch and with frustration, hit the clone in the jaw with a left jab. Only this time, the clone did not break and it performed three back flips, recovering. The clone then turned to Luigi and smiled as a small trickle of blood ran down it's lip.

Luigi and Mario's shadow grew curious as the apparent clone wiped its mouth and smiled in a way that Mario never has before. His mouth opened and his tongue dangled. His eyes grew black and became like King Boo's. He laughed, but it was not Mario's laugh, it was the laugh of King Boo. "That's upsetting, and here I thought Mario was superior to you Luigi... It looks like I even bought into the hype!" King Boo said through Mario's body. "Have you figured out what's going on Luigi? This isn't an illusion like the others...," he said to a confused Luigi. "Let me spell it out for you both..., THIS... IS... MARIO'S... REAL... BODY! It's mine now!" King Boo laughed maniacally. "I'm gonna use your brother's super strength to crush you Luigi! You can't strike your own brother! What's the matter Luigi? I can see you trembling!" he taunted.

Then, something happened that King Boo did not expect. Mario's shadow began to laugh and even fall over with laughter. "Y-you think you can beat Luigi... with MY body?!" he laughed in a mocking tone. "Of all the stupid things, Boo!" Mario continued as Luigi stayed silent with his eyes downcast and hidden under his hat. His fists tightened as a tranquil fury took him.

"What do you mean?! This plan is fool proof!" King Boo said confidently.

"If you think your plan is fool proof, then you don't know us as well as you think you do! Let me tell you this! In all of the Mushroom Kingdom, no one beats Luigi in unarmed hand-to-hand combat accept for me. And that's only a 50-50 chance ordeal. We're still pretty even," Mario explained.

"So, you admit that you are capable of defeating Luigi! What's the problem?!" King Boo asked, still bewildered.

"You know what, I'll let you figure that out on your own!" Mario said still giggling.

"Well then, SHOW ME!" King Boo shouted angrily as he charged Luigi.

King Boo attempted to punch Luigi who effortlessly blocked with his left hand and planted his right fist in 'Mario's gut. King Boo felt the air get knocked from him and he doubled over. "That's was sloppy Boo!" Luigi said as he cracked his knuckles.

"W-what...?! I didn't even see...!" King Boo growled.

King Boo jumped up and threw a volley of sloppy punches Luigi's way, but he effortlessly evaded all of them with bobs and weaves. Luigi got in close, grabbed Mario's overalls and delivered a punishing head-butt. King Boo recoiled and was disoriented.

"Understand yet Boo?" Mario asked teasingly. "I spar with Luigi all the time! We even have our own fighting style called 'Plumb-Fu'! We know each other's weaknesses and strengths. I may have an edge in strength, but Luigi's more durable. I may be faster, but Luigi can endure more. We can make up for what the other lacks! That's why we are such a great team and just because you have my body Boo, doesn't mean you have my skills or experience!"

King Boo growled again and ignored Mario's taunting only for him to rush Luigi again. Mario's body's face grew more Boo like in appearance. There was no technique to King Boo's attacks as it became strikingly apparent that melee combat was not his strong point. Luigi walked all over King Boo. The Three Musty Fears appeared. "Heh, oh how the mighty have fallen! I may not be a Boo, but it warms my dead heart to see you humiliated, King Boo!" Greaper said with a wide grin.

"I must admit, seeing him rattled like this gives me the shivers!" Dry Bones said with a chatter.

"Yeah, take that, you're not my King!" Boo claimed with a cheer.

"...And just who are you three clowns? And you, you're a Boo! Why are you hanging out with them?!" King Boo said, breathing heavily.

"...Because I hate you...," Boo retorted with a raspberry gesture.

"Why you ungrateful little...!" King Boo grumbled. "Alright fine, so it looks like I hit a minor snag in my plan. Mario's body may be harder to control than I anticipated! However, all I need is more time. This plan is far from cancelled! So, as a precaution, I am retreating today, but only for a little while! You won this battle today drain-brain! In the meantime, why don't you play with Merloom's childhood art project?" King Boo gloated as he cast a spell. A pool of clay bubbled between them as a mass began to take shape. It took the shape of a three headed Blargg. One head was fierce, one was gloomy, and the third was apathetic, but all were lazy eyed. King Boo laughed deeply, "Have fun!" he taunted as he escaped into a Warp Zone.

"Uh oh," Luigi moaned.

"Uh, you might want to move...," Greaper suggested.

As expected the slippery ground made it hard for Luigi to get any real traction as the saurian creature lumbered its way to Luigi.

"Luigi, find a Fire Flower! If you use the Super Flame attack, that thing will turn to stone!" Mario suggested. "Quick, find some blocks to bash!"

"Okie dokie, go Weegie!" Luigi cheered himself on as he avoided waves of clay that came at him from the monster's stomping around. Finally, he found what he was looking for, a Fire Flower. He consumed its power and transformed. "Alrighty then, all I need now is a good position!" Luigi said as he scanned the area.

The Blargg's immense size made it hard to avoid and even harder to predict. The middle head was constantly spewing streams of clay Luigi's way and he had to do some fancy jumping to avoid them. The gloomy head, the left one, only tried to bite when Luigi was too close and the apathetic head yawned, which spawned claymated wizards, who resembled young pyromancers.

Luigi, jumped, double jumped and triple jumped to find a safe vantage point. "Hey, what about here?!" Boo asked hurriedly.

Luigi stood high on a row of three '?' Blocks, "This'll do!" he agreed and took his position. Luigi cast the Super Flame attack, expending his Fire Flower as he did so. The attack hit head on. When the smoke cleared, the muddy dragon's gloomy head was petrified into crackling and crumbling stone. The creature seemed stunned, "And now, let's knock that head off!" Luigi said as he rushed to the monster's side and High Jumped onto the petrified head and performed a Ground Pound attack. This shattered the head leaving only razor sharp spikes of ceramic left.

The monster, now with two heads, jumped back to life, now more hyper than before. It tried to trample Luigi, but he dodged by a thread as the creature's mass created a small sonic boom as it rushed by. Luigi managed to put some distance between himself and the Blargg as he searched for another Fire Flower. How lucky he was, as another Fire Flower emerged from the block. He collected it and tried hastily to get to another position, but the Blargg kept getting to close and destroyed the blocks he was standing on. Luckily, he was able to find another spot to stand and strike with another Super Flame. The apathetic head was now ceramic as Luigi repeated the process used to defeat the first one. Luigi was successful as his Ground Pound completely annihilated the head. However, before Luigi could get too excited, he noticed the sharp ceramic spikes that now littered the area. "I wouldn't touch those," Dry Bones warned flatly.

"That goes without saying...," Luigi responded.

The creature regained its composure, or what little of it, it had to start with and was now much faster than before. It set its eyes on Luigi, "Run, Weeg," Mario said with slight terror in his voice.

Luigi shouted in terror as the dopey clay dinosaur gave chase around the moat. Luigi made sure to keep bashing blocks to find one more Fire Flower. Luigi jumped and leaped to avoid being munched on until he finally found another Fire Flower. As Luigi ran to find a place to use Super Flame, something caught Greaper's attention. "Oh, would you look at that! That building over there must be the Foundry! Your brother was right about it being around back!" he said with levity.

Luigi huffed and puffed while holding onto his hat to keep it from falling off, "Is that really important right now?!" he said in a panic.

"Oh sorry, you still haven't destroyed this thing?" Greaper said sarcastically.

"Working on it!" Luigi said as he High Jumped to a set of blocks. The Blargg opened its mouth, ready to swallow Luigi, "Take this!" Luigi shouted as he showered the monster with another Super Flame. The smoke cleared and the body stumbled around as Luigi tried to jumped to the petrified head. He was successful as he Ground Pounded the last head. The clay lump seemed to be subsiding. Until that is, it began to take another shape entirely. It was now just a large blob with two eyes and a large fanged mouth. It had the ceramic spikes covering its body.

"What now? You bashed every block in sight!" Greaper asked worriedly.

Luigi winked with a grin, "That's okay, I bought an extra Fire Flower from Merlicity last time we were there!" he said practically pulling a rabbit out of the hat. He took his stored Fire Flower and consumed it. Staring the Blargg down, he made one final High Jump to a single empty block. "Bye-bye!" he said as he showered the Blargg with massive spheres of green flame. Luigi then wasted no time as he carefully scaled the monster's dangerously sharp body. He made it to the very top of the Blargg and ended things with one final Ground Pound and the Blargg turned into nothing but chunks of fired stone. Luigi pulled himself from the rubble with a large diamond in hand and looked over his shoulders with cautious optimism, hoping that was the end of it as he stored away the jewel. Sure enough, everything was quiet, until the Dual Scream went off, spooking him.

Luigi answered, "Hello?"

"Luigi, are you alright my boy? The hotspot just dropped suddenly! Why don't you come back and rest for a while?" E. Gadd urged politely. "You haven't been back in quite some time!"

Luigi looked over his shoulder and then turned to face the gloomy Foundry, where the Wheezing Wizard is rumored to be hiding in. Mario appeared, "Weeg, I think that's a good idea. Let's get some rest. Besides, I think we have enough Wizard Coins to buy those Super Boots from that witch anyway. We need every advantage we can get before going into that place! Whaddya say?"

Luigi nodded, "Yeah, it sure is a foreboding place isn't it?" he said as he took out the Warp Whistle.

Mario also got a good look at the place, "Yep, looks haunted to me. If I were a ghostly wizard, I would hide there."

*End of Chapter*


	13. 2-5: The Secret of the Wheezing Wizard

Super Luigi Bros.

And

The Shaman of Shadows

World 2: Chimney Mountain

2-5: The Secret of the Wheezing Wizard

*E. Gadd's Laboratory*

After waking from a quick snooze and having a hearty meal, Luigi stood over E. Gadd's shoulder as Gadd prepared to play back all of the new EVP's Luigi recorded. "All rested up, sonny? Good, let's see what all these messages say. They may be good clues to the Wheezing Wizard!" Gadd said excitedly as he pushed the play button.

First came static and then came the whole message, "Sir, I'm finished with my drawing. How does it look?" said the voice of a small male child.

Another voice replied with a wheezing cough, "Hmm, it's... frightening. Why would you draw something like this?" finished the older voice with a cough.

The child seemed dismayed, "W-what, how can you say that? It's within the guidelines you set!"

The wheezing voice followed, "That is true, and you did it well, its just... why multiple heads? Well, whatever, my opinion doesn't affect your grade. Perfect score... Do hurry and just take it home."

"W-wait, I don't understand! You gave me the full score! Doesn't that qualify it to be placed in the school display?"

The sound of a deep breath could be heard followed by an exhale, "Look son, you may have achieved the perfect score, but the display is purely opinion based. Why don't you go experiment with clay for a while. You definitely have talent kid, I would hate to see you waste it on the macabre. Speaking of which, you haven't been talking to any evil spirits have you?"

"...No sir... I-I'm sorry, I'll try harder next time," the child's voice said with a tone of anger.

"Very well then," wheezed the old man.

The child could be heard walking away, then picking up what sounded like clay as he mushed it around in his hands, "What a stupid old man...," mumbled the child.

Then, a strange whisper could be heard, "Who does he think he is? You're way more talented than anyone else in this class... No, the entire school..."

"Oh, its you! Did you see that? My painting got rejected because the teacher said it was scary!" said the child.

"Oh, that's no surprise. He's a jaded old codger, that one," whispered the voice.

"He says everything I make is scary...," the child said sadly.

"Well then, let's show him how beautiful it can be with this formless ball of clay. We are sure he'll appreciate it then if it has a little more depth to it!" laughed the mysterious voice.

"Hey, why does he always smoke that pipe? Isn't that bad for someone with breathing problems?" the child asks irritated.

"You're so right! Say, you're still pretty steamed over the way he criticizes your talent aren't you? Well, let's play a prank on him, shall we?" urged the voice.

The child laughed menacingly, "I-is that really okay?!

"Of course! He's stolen from you, you know?" said the voice.

"He has...? But he's the teacher!" said the child, astonished.

"Oh indeed, you want to know what's really going on? Take a look at all your talent in his Pyromancey training and your art classes! So far are you above your peers! The adults know this and they are afraid! They are afraid you'll grow to outdo them! Scoundrels! Fiends! They seek to put out your flames before you become a threat to them! They seek to shove you into the very shadows! The seek to steal away your rightful place in the world! So let us go and steal away what is important to him! His pipe...! Let us show him the magic that we taught to you!" laughed the voice menacingly as the child soon joined it.

The party was freaked out, none more so than Gadd, "W-who was that?" he said fearfully.

Luigi responded with a cold sweat, "That wasn't the voice of King Boo, that's for sure!"

Mario appeared beside Luigi with concern, "Luigi, there may be another ghost hanging around this guy that we don't know of yet. So let's stay on our toes!"

Greaper appeared, "It may be more than one as it never addressed itself as a single entity. This poor child was seduced by the darkness from such an early age. How sad."

Boo followed, "Yeah, but I have a feeling this kid might have had an interest in dark things from the start."

Dry Bones added as well, "And that made him a perfect target for whatever spirit he's talking to."

"Well, at any rate, I think its time for you to confront the Wheezing Wizard my boy," Gadd urged.

Luigi nodded and Mario and the Three Musty Fears vanished into Luigi's shadow. Luigi left Gadd and went to see Merlon who, both he and Merlessa, were both chatting away with Monstermamma. "Oh, Luigi! Glad you stopped by, how goes the venture into Mage Land?" Merlon asked with high hopes.

"Well, I'm getting ready to go clobber this 'Wheezing Wizard' they have been speaking of!" Luigi said as he slammed one fist into the palm of another.

"Ah, so he's a Pyromancer then? Good, I can tell you a little about how to fight Pyromancey as a a refresher if you haven't already figured it out! As you know, I am a 'Shaman' and my niece here is a 'Sage'. A Shaman honors spirits of Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. A Sage, provides support such as magic of Light, Healing, Shield and Buffs. But a Pyromancer's sole form of magic is that of Fire. They focus so much so on it they even adopt the very nature of fire into their own being. That being said, Fire won't bring them harm, only strength. So don't use Fire Flowers on the Wheezing Wizard. Instead, use something cold, I trust you found the Ice Flowers? In addition, Fire magic is one of, if not the most offensive elements to use and as such it costs a lot of magic to cast the spells. Nevertheless, make sure you keep your distance from him. If he's a master, then he should have some high level spells in his arsenal."

"Fire magic is also fairly quick and can obviously continue to bring you harm even after your struck with it! I'm afraid that stopping, dropping, and rolling won't help you against a Pyromancer...," Merlessa added.

"As long as you focus, you should be fine! Besides, you Mario Brothers have dealt with fiery foes plenty of times before, so I'm sure this won't take long!" Merlon claimed with a smile.

"Thanks for the tips!" Luigi said as he excused himself. They waved him off as he went.

Luigi went to Merlicity's Shop, "Hello again handsome! What can I help you with today?" she said coyly.

"Hello, I would like those Super Boots please!" Luigi said as he handed over the necessary Wizard Coins.

"Here you are my fine man!" Merlicity said perkily. "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you!" Luigi said as he took the shiny blue and silver colored Super Boots.

"Have a nice day and do visit again soon!" Merlicity said cheerfully.

Outside, Luigi looked at the Super Boots in awe, "These are... really nice boots!"

Mario appeared, "Well, hurry and equip those Luigi, they are way better than those crummy Zoom Shoes you're wearing! I hate those shoes, no traction at all!"

Luigi put on the Super Boots, "Wow, such comfort!"

"That's what I'm talkin' about Weeg! I give this Wheezing Wizard five minutes tops!" Mario claimed confidently.

"Well then, let's go!" Luigi said as he blew on the Warp Whistle.

*Foundry of Arts and Crafts*

The magical winds carried Luigi to a flight of steps that led out of the Clay Pit and up to a large building. He was taken aback by the addition of extra heat in the air. "Wow, its like walking into Bowser's Castle out here!" Luigi noted.

"Is it that hot out here bro?" Mario said as he looked around. Something then caught his eye. "Bro, look! The Clay Pit is drying up! There are cracks in the ground everywhere!"

"Mama mia!" Luigi said as he seen the drought.

"Weeg, we gotta stop this guy as fast as we can before his curse burns this place to the ground and destroys these people's lively hoods!" Mario urged as he flailed his arms about.

"Okie dokie, here I go!" Luigi said as he traversed the steps and on to the porch. The place was beautifully carved from fired stone. It was built into the base of Mount Chimney and had a spinning rooftop like so many other wizard houses. Luigi found the doors to be open and he peeked inside with his flashlight, "Hello?" he said nervously as he let himself in.

The place was dark, but he could see that the entranceway was rectangular. It seemed to follow all the way into the volcano. On the opposite side of Luigi's current position stood a massive red bolted set of double doors. They had two large locks on them.

The east and west sides were lined with several doors that mirrored each other. Luigi entered the first door to his right. This room was a room filled with precious blown glass sculptures as well as many plain glass sheets that were waiting to become works of art. Luigi was taken with the wonderful glass figurines and vases. Then, one by one, they levitated into the air. "Here they come bro!" Mario said as Luigi readied himself.

Ghostly voices cackled quietly as the glass objects began bolting for Luigi. He effortlessly dodged a large glass vase and it shattered against a wall. A golden ghost appeared over the shards and laughed heartily as Luigi turned and shined his light on it. He disposed of the spirit easily enough. Luigi turned his head instantly to find a statue flying right towards him. He performed a back flip and it smashed into the wall. It was followed by another round of vases and two more ghosts appeared. Luigi caught them both simultaneously and as soon as he did a trio of ghost wizards appeared. They began throwing fireballs his way. Luigi dodged and the fireballs melted any glass objects they came into contact with. With a skip and a hop, Luigi disposed of each ghostly wizard one after the another. After the last one vanished into the Poltergust, the lights in the room came on and a fire in the red brick fire place came to life. Luigi proceeded through two other manufacturing rooms that were nearly identical to the first. When he cleared the third room he used a key to open a large door. This door led to a strange dark room.

Many boxes could be seen stacked onto one another. Many tools and measuring equipment were neatly placed on work benches and a large cauldron was placed at the center of the room. Luigi examined one of the crates and its contents. A pretty, shiny sand sifted through his fingers. Greaper emerged, "Oh, crystal sand! This room must be where the pyromancers made sheets of crystal glass. That cauldron must have been used with fire magic to melt the sand and then they would pour the molten contents into a standard mold. Hmm, I feel something strange... I don't think we're alone in this room...!"

Luigi readied himself as his brother took position at his side. The cauldron began to shake and spikes of multi-colored stained glass emerged and levitated into the air. "Look out Weeg, it's a Pulsar of some kind! It must be another one of these crazy 'art projects' like that Blargg!" Mario warned.

Boo chimed in, "I wouldn't physically attack that thing if I were you...! Just some advice!"

"Well, not with your hands anyway!" Dry Bones added.

Luigi took his brother's hammer, "I'll just smash it into shards and then clean up the mess!" he said as the 'art project' charged him. Luigi swung at the stained glass Pulsar with all his might and it shattered into countless shards. Luigi then readied his Poltergust to start sucking up the debris. Unfortunately, he didn't get enough as the creature reformed and retaliated with a Will-O-Wisp-like spell. Luigi comically dodged with a shout as he was flung behind a stack of crates.

"That was a close call bro!" Mario said as he peered around the corner to see a smaller version of the monster search diligently for them.

"Yeah, it looks like it had a counterattack!" Luigi huffed as he began sneaking through isles of boxes hoping to make a sneak attack. After a few moments of careful stalking passed, Luigi finally caught the creature from behind and shattered it again. He quickly scooped up as many shards as he could before it reassembled itself. Now only a third of its size, the monster countered Luigi's attack with an ice spell that would have landed a chunk of ice on him if he handed moved. Swiftly, Luigi was able to escape with a well timed dived. Quickly he recovered, and hid amongst the boxes again. The monster was much faster this time and Luigi had a hard time chasing it down. It even managed to sneak up on him a few times and attempt to cast an Electrocute spell or one of the previous spells it had used. With some quick timing, Luigi finally snuck up and struck the monster down. Reflexively, he scooped up every last shard of the creature and the lights came on. "I did it!" Luigi said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Now that the lights were on, he could inspect the room peacefully. On the main work bench lie a sparkling object and its glint caught the plumber's eye. He approached the work bench and seen that it was a beautifully crafted crystal glass key.

"Oh, how much you wanna bet that key is one of the ones we need to open those big doors back in the main hall?" Mario deduced.

"Yeah, and I'll bet the other is stored in the other wing of the Foundry!" Luigi said as he stored the key safely away. He quickly left the area and returned to the main hall.

Luigi entered the left wing of the Foundry and found it to be a similar room as the one's on the other side. However, this room was nothing more than a massive rectangle in shape and the light's were already on. He pondered about the convenience, but quickly decided to use his luck to his advantage and search the room. The room was filled with clay pottery that was fired and a massive kiln sat coldly at the back of the room. No matter how much he searched however, he could not find anything that resembled a key. Greaper appeared, "Hey, you know how that other key was made from glass right? Well, why don't we just make a duplicate from some of the clay in here? There are some blocks in here too, so I'll bet one of them has a Fire Flower you can use to fire the clay key into a stone one. "Let's give it a try!" he suggested.

"Okie dokie!" Luigi agreed as he scooped up a handful of clay and molded it into a copy of the glass key he already had.

"There, that looks good!" Boo said with a smile.

"Yeah, you're good at this!" Dry Bones rattled.

"You see, my bro's got this!" Mario praised. "Now let's find a Fire Flower and turn this key into a more useful state!"

"Oh yeah!" he said as he went searching the blocks for a Fire Flower. After hitting some of them, a Fire Flower did indeed pop out. But before he could grab it, the lights went out and a mysterious force levitated the flower. The cackle of a Boo could be heard. "Oh no...," Luigi moaned as he switched on his Dark Light Device and began chasing down the Boo. He dodged its attempts to throw pottery at him and jump scare him with the help of other ghosts, but after some fancy footwork, he bathed the Boo with the device and it appeared with distress.

It announced itself, "I'm Boogeois and I am a famous sculptor among Boos!" he said proudly. Luigi promptly began sucking the Boo into the Poltergust and it managed to escape by throwing a vase into his air stream. He easily caught up to Boogeois and captured him this time. He took the Fire Flower as the lights came on. Luigi used the Fire Flower's power to quickly fire the clay key into a stone one and he rejoiced triumphantly. "Alright bro, let's open those doors!" Mario said confidently. Luigi agreed as they returned to the main hall.

Luigi placed both keys into their respective locks and turned them. They opened the locks and they fell to the floor. Luigi felt the door as he pushed on it and realized it was quite warm. He entered and found himself inside Mount Chimney. He looked around in awe as the whole place was built as some magical metal works plant. Massive cauldrons held molten metal that moved magically through the air. The center of the volcano had a rectangular platform that sat like an isle in the middle of molten metal. Lining it were large black anvils, five to the right and another five to the left. Magical mallets pounded away at formless metal upon them.

"So where's this Wheezing Wizard?" Greaper said as he materialized.

"Maybe if we cause a ruckus he'll come out of hiding?" Boo suggested curiously.

"That's a great idea, let's dump some of these cauldrons, that should make him mad!" Dry Bones added further.

Luigi seen that their were two large vats of molten metal that levitated back and forth around the volcano pouring molten metal into molds. Luigi leaped to a large wooden beam that stuck out of the side of the volcanic rock and then jumped to a scale that began to drop as there was no counter weight. He let the scale drop some before he jumped to the other side of it and up to a row of blocks. He waited until one of the vats levitated by and kicked his Knock-Knock Shell at it which caused it to tip and dump its contents all over the molds instead of into them. Luigi then jumped back down and went to the other side where he jumped up a craggy wall, then to a pillar, then to some more blocks as he waited for the other vat to pass by. He repeated his last action and dumped the molten materials all over the molds. Satisfied, Luigi jumped down to the anvils where he sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Then suddenly, the magical hammers ceased work and a pillar of flames erupted from thin air right in front of him. When the flames died down a wizard stood before him.

"So you think its funny to mess up someone's artwork?" he said with a grating voice that was accompanied by a slight wheeze. He wore robes with red, yellow and black accents that resembled flames. His crystal ball hung around his neck and his angry yellow eyes matched its gleam. He had a very thin mustache and pointy little beard. He held one hand behind his back while the other held onto the base of a very long smoker's pipe. Like Merlana, he seemed to be void of the typical undead features and seemed intact. He did however, seem a little artificial looking.

Mario appeared next to his brother, "We needed to get you out of hiding somehow!"

The wizard seemed unalarmed, "I wasn't hiding, you merely needed to call my name, not wreck my works! Hooligans!"

"Um, what is your name?" Luigi asked curiously. "We only know you as the 'Wheezing Wizard'."

He scoffed, "Tch, that is merely a nickname that has stuck with me for many years. You may call me, Merlyre. And what about you, what do you call yourself?"

"I'm Luigi and this shadow here is my brother Mario!" Luigi claimed. "He's not himself at the moment..."

"Yeah, and we are here to break-a your face!" Mario said tauntingly.

"Oh?" Merlyre said as his eyes widened.

"That's right, my brother here is gonna stomp out your fires and turn you into dust!" Mario said as he began to build up Luigi. Luigi began to panic as he quietly tried to hush his brother.

"Is that so? Well, before that, allow me one question. How is it that you are even in this room? Shouldn't you be blistering and burning due to the heat?" Merlyre asked curiously.

"My bro's built out of some tough stuff, like super tough! You have no idea!" Mario continued as his brother tried comically to keep him quiet.

"Well, there's no arguing with the proof! I will acknowledge your 'toughness' for a human! I must say, you actually have me intrigued! I am now interested in seeing just how tough your brother is! How much heat can he stand?" Merlyre said as his facial features gleamed with the orange light of fire. He exhaled a massive fireball at Luigi who countered it with his own fireball.

Luigi then quickly remembered he had the power of the Fire Flower and realized he was at a disadvantage. "Uh-oh, I can't use fire here!" he said aloud to himself.

Merlyre laughed softly, "I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I don't believe fire will serve you well against someone like me, he finished as he raised his left index finger above his head. "Let's try a 'Mega Drain' spell!" he said followed by a chant.

Mario turned to Luigi, "Weeg look out, that spell-!" he was cut off as the red beam of light swiped by Luigi who tried to block it. It instantly removed his fire power as well as causing a little bit of damage.

"Surprised?" Merlyre asked with raised brow. "When used by a master of fire magic, the Mega Drain has an alternate effect when used. I can 'drain' the fire power from others when they are struck!"

Thinking quickly, Luigi found that their were four '!' Blocks floating above the four corners of the platform. Merlyre began spewing fireballs from his mouth and Luigi worked hard to dodge out of the way. He slid on the ground and hid behind one of the anvils. "I hope whatever's in those blocks is helpful!" Luigi said as he quietly moved to the closest corner. He heard Merlyre's footsteps slowly moving in as he did so. He quickly jumped and hit the block revealing an Ice Flower.

Merlyre caught Luigi in his burning gaze, "There you are!"

Luigi quickly grabbed the Ice Flower and absorbed its power, transforming into Ice Luigi. His overalls now green and his cap and shirt a light blue. "I'll turn you into a popsicle!" Luigi said as he held a blue ball of 'flame' in his hand.

Merlyre laughed, "Do you really think you can put out my flames with that little fire extinguisher?"

Luigi smiled with a newfound confidence, "If you're so sure, then why did you seal them away?" he said with a taunting tone.

"Huh? Seal them away? I did no such thing! A thing as that is of no concern to me!" Merlyre claimed with what seemed to be a truthful statement.

"We'll see about that! I heard you can't stand the cold!" Luigi said as he leaped into the air and fired off a number of ice balls.

Merlyre didn't bother to retaliate and he took the ice balls head on. His feet and shins were trapped in ice. Then a reaction occurred as Merlyre's eyes gleamed, "As a matter of fact, I do happen to dislike the cold, but like any good educator, I am prepared for such things!" he said as he conjured a sphere of flames above his head that resembled the sun. "Every time some goof ball hits me with an offensive ice elemental technique, I counterattack with the strongest fire spell imaginable! My 'Corona' spell with flash burn you into ash!"

"JUMP BRO, LIKE REALLY HIGH!" Mario shouted in warning.

The Corona spell enveloped everything in bright sun like rays as they circled the inside of the volcano. The spell concluded and Merlyre inhaled deeply as he took a drag off his pipe. He placed more of a strange substance into his pipe he got from a small pouch at his side. "Ahh, another miscreant taken care of. Now..., wait where are his ashes?" he asked himself quietly.

"Whew, that was close Weeg!" Mario said as Luigi flutter kicked high in the air. "That High Jump nearly took us to the top of Mount Chimney! Those Super Boots were a great investment!"

"Yeah, but I lost the Ice Flower power, now what?" Luigi said losing concentration.

"Since he can do that nasty counter spell, I say you just jump on him, then punch him in the face a thousand times, that should do it!" Mario said comically.

"Here I go!" Luigi said as he descended and landed right on top of Merlyre's head with a powerful stomp. Another reaction occurred as Luigi was catapulted away by a wall of flames. Luigi recovered in midair as he put out the flames on his clothes.

Merlyre could be seen standing back up behind the wall of fire and his glowing eyes could be seen through the flames. The flames died down and Merlyre took another puff from his pipe, "I didn't like rough housing in my class rooms and I don't care for it here! You muscle types are all alike! You think you can beat someone into the ground because they are weaker than you! Well then, try another punch or kick and see if you can get past my Flame Wall counter spell! In the meantime, try dodging a flurry of Flame Stones!" Merlyre said as he began a chant. Enormous boulders of flame fell from the sky and Luigi worked hard to avoid them. After he was done with that spell, he began spewing fire breath again. Luigi could do nothing but run from Merlyre as he had a counter for nearly everything and a seemingly endless medley of powerful fire spells.

Finally, Luigi used his speed to hide himself from Merlyre's sights and hide behind an anvil. Mario appeared and he seemed irritated. Luigi whispered to him, "Well bro, its been more than five minutes and he's hardly bothered by me being here!" he said in dismay.

"Meh, okay so that was a bad call on my part...," Mario said apologetically.

Greaper appeared in a fury, "That does it! I don't care who this guy thinks he is! How can he so effortlessly use so many fire spells in succession like that and not be completely drained!"

Boo added, "Yeah, Fire spells are expensive and Pyromancers don't have that kind of stamina!"

Dry Bones followed, "This looks really bad doesn't it..."

Luigi heard Merlyre's footsteps and he began to switch places. Unfortunately, Merlyre caught him. "There you are, you are a slippery one!" he said as he breathed fire again. Luigi jumped out of the way and met him in the middle.

"Hey!" Luigi called out, Merlyre paused. "How can you cast so many spells at once? Aren't you exhausted?"

Merlyre replenished his pipe's contents. He took a deep breath from it and exhaled the thick white vapor with a chuckle. "So you want to know?" he said taking another puff from the pipe.

"Yeah, and isn't smoking a bad habit? Especially for someone who already has breathing problems?" Luigi said frustrated.

Merlyre scoffed, "Hmph, leave it to a human to be so clueless! Sure smoking is a bad habit if you sit there and smoke toxic plants! Do you really think I have tobacco in this pipe? No, I have no such thing. This pipe is filled with a very special mixture of herbs that promote healthy breathing when the vapors are inhaled. It is like burning a candle or incense. These healing herbs allowed me to breath when I was alive back in the day. However, I took it a step further. After some experimentation, I found that I could add a very healthy herb to the mix that constantly regenerates my magical power!"

"So that's how he's doing it!" Greaper whispered.

"Yeah and it looks like he's loaded up on the stuff too! Check out all those pouches around his waist!" Boo pointed out.

"Yeah, he'd never run out if we just keep attacking him...," Dry Bones voiced echoed.

"Luigi we need to think of something fast or this guy's gonna cook your goose!" Mario said with urgency.

Luigi smiled, "I just thought of something, bro. I'm gonna stop this guy!" he said as he adjusted his cap. Luigi then took off running and Merlyre laughed as he began using his fire breathing spells again. Luigi dodged and leaped over Merlyre and hit one of the other blocks that granted him another Ice Flower.

He took the Ice Flower, "What good will that do you? Did you not learn your lesson? Shall I teach you again?" Merlyre taunted.

However, Luigi did not fire any ice balls and instead chose close range again. Merlyre confidently allowed Luigi to try a physically attack him, but a punch never came and this stunned Merlyre for a second as Luigi instead, held up the nozzle of the Poltergust and used its suction to scoop up all of Merlyre's medicine pouches. "What the, why you dirty little thief! I'll burn you until your bones crack!" he said as he conjured another Flame Stone. Before it hit Luigi concentrated one ice ball and aimed it at Merlyre's pipe. He successfully hit the pipe and it froze in a block of ice and slid around the floor. However, the Flame Stone hit Luigi dead on robbing him of his ice power and causing considerable damage.

Merlyre became very angry and he wheezed, "YOU WRETCHED! Bah, never mind, you're mine!" he said as he cast Corona, this time willingly, rather than a counter.

"LUIGI!" cried Mario as Luigi dived behind an anvil.

Luigi found himself badly injured behind the anvil, but he was now more angry than frightened. Merlyre rushed to pick up his defrosted pipe and desperately tried to relight its contents. Luigi got up into a kneeling pose with both hands on the floor in front of him, "Bro, there's only one technique I can use now...," Luigi said as he concentrated with his eyes closed.

"Hey I know that pose! You're gonna use..., the 'Super Jump' aren't you?" Mario said with a smile. "Get'im, Weeg! Give this zombie a taste of pasta power!"

Merlyre appeared at Luigi's back, "Ah, there you are! This is the end!" he said as his face glowed. "DIE!" he shouted as he breathed flames that were meant to envelop Luigi. The flames died revealing nothing, not even ash. "Oh no, did he... jump again?!" he said as he looked up and witnessed Luigi come barreling towards him with his feet aimed right for him. Merlyre spewed a fireball, but Luigi stomped on it and rebounded to a wall leaving a crater in the side of the volcano. He then rebounded again as another fireball narrowly missed him. Merlyre tried desperately to hit Luigi with his fireballs as Luigi jumped around Mount Chimney leaving a sound not unlike the rumble of thunder every time Luigi landed on a spot. Then suddenly, Merlyre found himself exhausted, the contents of his pipe empty. With no more magic, he looked above him and he seen nothing but the sole's of Luigi's Super Boots. Luigi crushed Merlyre and continued to jump on him with unimaginably powerful jumps. Eventually, Luigi's attack came to an end as he stepped off of the pile of rubble that was the pulverized wizard.

Luigi knelt down trying to catch his breath as Mario appeared, "Way to go Weeg! All 100 jumps! Even if all of them didn't hit him, I think the 73 that did should be enough!" he praised.

Luigi then got to his feet as he approached the broken wizard. Merlyre moaned and Luigi prepared for the worst. However, no retaliation came. Only the broken wizard's pitiful voice. "Well..., that was some... attack...," he tried to laugh. He wheezed heavily as he spoke more, "You know something...? I'm not truly Merlyre... I'm just an undead construct..., that was made using his ashes from his grave... and clay... I cursed this land... because deep inside... their was resentment... for those who could breathe... But there was other sorrows... His remains had such sorrow for that boy... Merloom was it? He felt that he failed the boy... He became..., dismayed when students like him... used their natural gifts... for wicked purposes... or not at all...," Merlyre's tears fell from his eyes and evaporated on the floor. "But you... have showed this old teacher something... You're someone..., with something special... and you try your best... with that gift... You were... a good student... when you were young... weren't you...? Do something for me will you...? Scoop up this wizard's remains... and give him back his honor... make sure the people know... who he... truly... was...," he said with his final breath as he began turning into ash and an old robe.

Luigi had a solemn expression on his face as he bent down and grasped the robe in his hand. "Bro, this robe must be two thousand years old...," he said sadly. "When did the people we defeat in battle have such hardships?"

Mario placed his shadowy hand on Luigi's shoulder, "It happens sometimes bro. Not everyone we fight will have a truly evil heart. Come on, let's get this over with."

Luigi took the Poltergust and sucked up Merlyre's remains and with it, the curse he laid upon the land of the Pyromancers. With that, Luigi left Mount Chimney and returned to the Pyromancer's village.

*Village of the Pyromancers*

The Pyromancers celebrated with a festival of fire. They danced as they twirled fire rods and did other pyrotechnic tricks with their wizardry. The village elder thanked Luigi deeply with tears in his eyes as everyone's passion returned and the atmosphere was clear and breathable again. No cracks in the ground remained and Mount Chimney was calm. Only Merloom's cursed black sky remained overhead. Luigi let the elder in on the story in private and he seemed relieved that the old teacher Merlyre had been put to rest.

"You know, when you were inside Mount Chimney, we heard a peculiar rumble. It was like thunder and that was when we knew that the Green Thunder was chastising the evil within the volcano...," the elder said with hope in his voice. "But I never anticipated that the Wheezing Wizard was a ghost of such a unique wizard from our past! I am still astonished!" he continued.

Mario whispered to Luigi from behind, "Green Thunder, huh? I guess that Super Jump really cemented that title for you Weeg!"

Luigi blushed from all the praise, "I suppose so!" he said as he scratched his cheek with his index finger.

Luigi was approached by the Pyromancers that he had helped along the way. Merlash came from the crowd, "Thanks again for the help, sonny! I guess that old treasure of mine really helped you out, huh?" he laughed heartily as he took a drink of water.

Merlerin and her family also found him. She spoke with joy in her voice, "My who would have thought I was being aided by a figure of prophecy!"

"Yes, me and my wife feel deeply honored and lucky to have been visited and even assisted by you!" Merlsius claimed.

Merleit jumped in a playful manner, "I helped a hero! Woo!" she cheered happily.

"Well Luigi, what do you say we head back to Monstro Town? I think these people will continue to celebrate for hours to come," Mario suggested.

Luigi's stomach growled, "Oh, just one moment Mario! I at least have to try some of the food!"

*End of Chapter*


	14. S-1: Follow the Shadow!

Super Luigi Bros.

And

The Shaman of Shadows

World S: The Underland

S-1: Follow the Shadow!

*?*

King Boo lamented in pitch darkness, "Ah, perhaps I was a tad premature in revealing my plan to the Mario Brothers. I need to take the time to analyze Mario's abilities some more. Before I do that however, I need to drop this crystal ball off with someone who can refashion it into a crown jewel for me," he pondered. He grumbled as he puzzled and pondered. Then something came to him, "Well, I guess its off to the Underland for me... Speaking of which, I wonder how Merloom is doing with that pesky Princess hot on his heels? Oh well, not my problem anyways..."

*The Underland*

The Underland, a place where all go who get a 'Game Over', as it is said softly by the denizens there within. It is filled to the brim with undead creatures called 'Shaydes' who clatter around and suffer for all time under the rule of Queen Jaydes, due to boredom and dullness. Princess Peach wandered around asking these Shaydes if they had seen a particular wizard pass by. Peach quickly grew board of the Shaydes completely ignoring her questions just to tell her how they got 'Game Over's'.

Peach sighed in boredom as she sat down on a rock, "Oh my, this place is so dull!" she moaned.

Then suddenly, a Shayde approached her, "Hey lady, are you the one asking about a Lich?"

Peach perked up and lent her ears, "Yes!" she said as she clasped her hands together hopefully.

"I saw that guy not to long ago. He was grumbling quite a bit and he was sneaking around a lot. He was headed to a Warp Zone that was hidden in the darker edges on this level of the Underland. He seemed to be looking for someone or something...," explained the Shayde.

"Thank you so much!" Peach said joyfully. "Um, which direction was he headed?"

"Hard to say since there are no true directions here, but he was headed anywhere 'away' from Jaydes Castle. Just keep moving away from her castle and you'll likely bump into him. You'll know you're in the right place because none of us will be around," explained the Shayde further.

"Thank you so much!" Peach said with a curtsey as she turned and began heading in any direction away from the dark gloomy castle that could be seen in the distance.

Eventually, the castle vanished from sight and Peach found herself in a very dark place that seemed like a grove of some kind. She came to a ledge, "Hmm, this must be it. I don't see anymore Shaydes or much of anything really. If he's headed to a Warp Zone, then there must be a Warp Pipe around here someplace!" she said as she jumped down from the ledge. Her feet collided with someone as she inadvertently stomped on them. Peach landed and quickly turned around to see who she hit and sure enough, it was Merloom.

He rose to his feet angrily as his eyes beamed with an icy blue radiance, "Seriously, if I get stomped on one more time-! Wait, you're that strange woman from that squalid fungus ridden hovel," he said with disgust.

Peach's expression grew serious as she clenched her fists, "Yes and no, my kingdom is by no means filthy! At least it wasn't until you came by and wronged my people!"

Merloom seemed board listening to her, "Oh, so sorry my dear! I thought I would clean up all the 'mold'. Besides, I had a deal to complete! Wait a second-! How are you down here anyway? You don't appear to have had a Game Over."

"I followed you using King Boo's portal, you scoundrel! I want my people's souls back and I will get them back!" Peach said, growing more bold.

Merloom seemed intrigued, "Is that so...? Well then, if that is the case, why follow me? The souls of your disgusting 'people' are now with King Boo!"

Peach broke out into a cold sweat, "What? You mean you're not the one doing anything to them?"

"No, I just needed to fill my Black Pearl Crystal Ball with enough souls and make a trade with King Boo for a very rare and valuable item! Only the rat tricked me! Its in pieces down here! So if you don't mind pink one, I need to continue my search!" Merloom exclaimed strongly.

"What do you intend to do with this 'very rare item' anyway? And why was it worth my people's souls?!" Peach said growing more frustrated.

Merloom began growing impatient, "If you must know you pest, the Urn of Underland Valley Shadows will amplify my power one hundred fold! I will draw that wretched world into the shadows forever!"

Peach's expression became one of extreme sadness as her face grew into a blank slate. Tears streamed down her cheeks, "So... you intend to do to everyone, what you have done to my people?"

Merloom laughed heartily, "Oh no child, I intend much WORSE!"

"Than I am in the right place right now," she said lifting her head, her expression now furious. "I will punish you for your wicked crime and END YOU!"

Merloom laughed much louder, "YOU?! Stop me?! You have quite the sense of humor! But a paltry human girl such as yourself could never hope to stand up to a wizard of my caliber even if you know how to use magic!" he said as he vanished into the shadows and began moving between the shady forest trees. "However, if you insist on pursuing me and hindering my efforts, I will not hesitate to obliterate you, human!"

Peach thought quietly as she lightly bit her bottom lip, "We shall see about that! I for one, refuse to be bullied by someone like you!"

Peach then pursued the formless moving shadows of the wizard until something emerged from the darkness. A Warp Pipe, grey and old. Merloom had already entered. A wooden sign nearby read, "Underland Valley, beware any who enter the unknown!" she recited. Peach swallowed hard and entered the Warp Pipe. She closed her eyes tightly as she did so...

*Mushroom Kingdom*

A certain reptile flew over the skies of the Mushroom Kingdom in a strange contraption. "Nice work on polishing the Koopa Klown Kar Kamek, it needed it! Now to kidnap the Princess and put my new plan into motion!" said the reptile with a hearty laugh.

Kamek, a Koopa Wizard dressed in blue robes, adjusted his thick glasses and fought to stay on his magic broom. "Yes your nastiness, whoa, it sure is windy today! We should land now Lord Bowser, Peach's Castle looks deserted! This may be a good opportunity!"

Bowser and Kamek landed in the abandoned courtyards of Peach's Castle and a foul wind blew on through. They immediately realized that something was amiss. Bowser spoke up, "Hey, does something feel strange all of the sudden?"

"Yes actually, your grotesque-ness, it seems a little to quiet," Kamek said as he felt coldness overtake his reptilian scales. "Something's not right at all. What is this feeling of dread I'm getting? I'm chilled to the bone!"

Before Bowser could say anything or inspect anything, the moans and giggles of many could be heard approaching slowly. "Shh, what's that noise?!" Bowser asked curiously.

Kamek felt a very negative presence. Then the wizard cultists, acolytes of Merloom, poured in to meet them both. Kamek instinctively reached for his magic scepter, "What is this? Who are these strange wizards?"

Bowser merely grunted in irritation, "I don't know I've never seen one's dressed in purple before. They don't look to happy though...," he said as he moved in front of Kamek to address them. "HEY, who are all of you people? Where is Princess Peach?"

The wizards spoke so much only a few sentences could be made out amongst them. "You're too late..."

"...This place is ours now..."

"...All belongs to the great Merloom, The Shaman of Shadows...!"

Kamek heard the name drop and he nearly drew into his shell to hide, "What, did I hear the name Merloom...?"

Bowser turned to Kamek with a puzzled expression, "Who's Merloom and why should I care?"

Kamek still had a blank fearful stare, "...Because he may have the Princess, sire..."

"WHAT?! NOBODY KIDNAPS PEACH BUT ME!" Bowser said as he nearly strangled Kamek. "Where is this Merloom at Kamek?!"

"Let's just... get out of here first sire!" Kamek said as he quickly flew upwards on his broomstick. Bowser quickly and angrily boarded his Klown Kar and followed his fear stricken subject.

"Okay, now Kamek, tell me who this Merloom guy think's he is?!" Bowser demanded.

"He's a very nasty wizard that is mentioned in old magic books and if he has Peach, its for certain the Mario Brothers are already hot on his heels. Come sire, I'll shall explain on the way," Kamek said with a growing feeling of dread.

"On the way...? To where Kamek?!" Bowser growled.

Kamek swallowed, "Well, if Merloom is back, than so should the homeland of the wizards be back. Just follow me sire, it's going to be quite a ride..."

*End of Chapter*


End file.
